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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22898797">Just Practicing</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/orochiis/pseuds/orochiis'>orochiis</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Revelations [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sword &amp; Shield | Pokemon Sword &amp; Shield Versions</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 09:21:41</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>24,305</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22898797</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/orochiis/pseuds/orochiis</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Leon messes up and lies on live TV, and Sonia has to step in and pretend to be his secret lover for a league event.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Dande | Leon/Sonia</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Revelations [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2018263</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>180</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Proposition</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hi I'm only writing this when I feel like it so don't expect regular updates lol ;; it'll only be 3-4 chapters long though! Enjoy these nerds!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“I’ve been thinking,” Leon says. This is something that Sonia has come to understand means he’s worried about something, and if she stays quiet, she’ll soon find out what. “It’s been five years since Gloria became Champion. And when she beat me, I had been Champion for eleven years.”<br/>
<br/>
“You’re right,” Sonia muses, applying another coat of teal polish to her nails. “Do you think she’ll be dethroned this year? If she’s as good as you say, and I believe you, she’ll have to stay in for another six years.”<br/>
<br/>
“Maybe.”<br/>
<br/>
He’s concerned, even if he won’t admit to her. Sitting across from her at her kitchen table, she can see each line on his face that betrays his emotions. If Gloria is beaten, then that means that he’s only the third best trainer in Galar, if even that. And while Leon has found something that he can throw himself into that’s not just being the Champion, Sonia can see the hurt in his eyes.</p><p>“Gloria is strong. I can see her staying in the role for a while still. And even if she does win, so what? That doesn’t reflect on you at all.”<br/>
<br/>
“What do you mean?”<br/>
<br/>
“Well, you don’t know if this other, hypothetical Champion is better than you. Gloria beat you, but you may be able to beat someone else. I know that’s what you’re thinking, Leon. We’ve known each other long enough.”<br/>
<br/>
“Ha! You’re right. You always know what to say to cheer me up.”<br/>
<br/>
“Well, I’m glad.” Sonia puts the lid back on the nail polish. “You know… I’m glad we’re friends again. I missed you in all those years you were off being Champion.”<br/>
<br/>
“I’m sorry. I know I wasn’t the best… friend. Or brother, or son, or… anything, really.”<br/>
<br/>
“Hey!” Sonia calls to him, and he snaps his gaze from the table to her eyes. “Not true! You were doing your best, even if… even if it didn’t feel like it was enough sometimes.”</p><p>“Anyway,” Leon mumbles, shaking his head to get the thoughts out of his head. “I’m only here to collect Hop’s things he left behind.”</p><p>“Oh, yes! Seems he was a little distracted earlier. Is everything okay?” Sonia gets up, fanning her hands in a vain attempt to dry her nails. She lifts a file from her counter, and passes it across to Leon.</p><p>“No idea. Haven’t seen him in a while- he’s never home when I am, and if he is, he’s always studying. He really takes this whole becoming a Professor thing seriously, you know?”<br/>
<br/>
“Glad to hear that. It’s hard work.”<br/>
<br/>
“I… I should be off then. Don’t want to intrude longer than I need to.”<br/>
<br/>
“You know you’re always welcome here, Leon.”<br/>
<br/>
Regardless of what she says, Leon gets up from the table with a smile, fixing his snapback of the day onto his head. Sonia follows him to the door, leaning against the doorframe as he wanders up the path to Route 2.</p><p>“Don’t get lost now!” She calls after him. “It’s dark!”<br/>
<br/>
“I think I know the way from here, Sonia. It’s been, what, twenty years?”<br/>
<br/>
“Still wouldn’t surprise me.” She sticks her tongue out at him, as if it still was twenty years ago, and with a laugh and a wave, Leon disappears into the night.</p>
<hr/><p>It doesn’t take much of an excuse for Leon to visit Sonia. Hop’s missing folder is a good reason, but the visits are becoming more frequent, and he stays longer each time. Sonia never kicks him out, and in fact, if he had to guess, Leon would say that she genuinely enjoyed his company.</p><p>Living on his own is lonely, especially when he’s been doing it for nearly ten years. Even though his mum has insisted that he’s more than welcome to move back home, Leon feels like he would probably be intruding- anyway, it’s embarrassing to move back in at twenty-six. Hence why he’s always at Sonia’s place- his best friend and her gran are always welcoming when he pops round unexpectedly.</p><p>His own place is cold- not physically, but its emptiness leaves a lot to be desired. He’s never been one for interior decorating, and even with all the money he made from being Champion, and the steady income from the Battle Tower, he’s never quite known what to spend it on.</p><p>Leon isn’t quite sure if he knows what is missing from his life. Sometimes, if he thinks long enough, his mind circles around to Sonia, though this makes no sense, as she’s already in his life. When he makes dinner, it always ends up being too much food, and it sits on his plate looking sad before he eats half and leaves the other half for the next day, and then usually ends up throwing it out because he ends up eating somewhere else.</p><p>Late into the evening, Leon’s phone rings, the screen lighting up with an unknown number. He grabs it, answering the call with his usual cheer.</p><p>“Hello! This is Leon.”<br/>
<br/>
“Leon! This is the Pokémon League. I hope this isn’t an inconvenient time for you.”<br/>
<br/>
“No, not at all,” Leon manages, though his mouth goes dry. Why are they phoning? It’s been so long since he’s received a call like this- he hopes nothing is wrong with Gloria.</p><p>“As I’m sure you know, this year’s Champion Cup is just around the corner. We were wondering if you would be available to MC the proceedings? This would also mean you get an invite to the post finals gala, of course.”<br/>
<br/>
“Oh. I… yes, I guess. I’ll be available for the week.”<br/>
<br/>
“Great! I’ll pass on the news to Champion Gloria. She personally requested it. I’ll send out all the information to your address. Are you still in Wyndon?”<br/>
<br/>
“Yes. I’ll look forward to the post.”<br/>
<br/>
“Thank you, Leon! We’ll speak again soon.”<br/>
<br/>
He sets the phone down with a sigh. He’s never been good at acting professional on the phone- or in person, for that matter. He doesn’t understand business terms and conventions, not that they particularly matter anymore now that he’s mostly out of the spotlight, and has a team of people who know what they’re doing to manage the day to day running of the Battle Tower.</p><p>He considers picking up the phone again and sharing the news with his family, with Sonia, with Gloria. But it’s late, sort of, too late to be bothering people anyway. He turns his phone off instead, hoping that if anyone really needs him, they’ll get in contact with his agent. The former Champion heads to bed, and once again feels lonely in the expanse of his mattress.</p>
<hr/><p>Usually, Sonia avoids watching Leon on TV. It’s strange, she thinks, to see someone she knows so well acting so differently solely for the sake of the cameras. Not to mention his catchphrase- ever since she first heard it, it’s given her extreme second-hand embarrassment. This interview, however, is different, as Hop insists on putting it on because apparently Leon has huge news.</p><p>They take their lunch break early to watch the show- the two of them abandoning books and graphs and machines in favour of cheese sandwiches in front of the TV. The old Professor Magnolia was very much against the addition of a TV to the lab, but a younger Sonia convinced her that it could, in fact, be educational, and as such her Gran bought a box of DVDs on Pokémon Biology for her to watch as a child.</p><p>The screen flickers to life (just about- it’s at least fifteen years old at this point). Hop changes the channel, and there’s Leon, sitting across from the presenter- someone who Sonia vaguely recognises, but can’t put a name to.</p><p>“So yeah,” Leon says, his usual grin on his face. “Gloria asked me to be there, so I’ll be commentating on the whole event.”<br/>
<br/>
“Well, your battle experience is second to none! If anyone is completely qualified to do so, it’s got to be you!”<br/>
<br/>
“Thanks,” Leon laughs, with the good grace to look at least a little sheepish.</p><p>“Moving on from that career move to a slightly more… personal matter. Now, the Gala after the finals of the Champion Cup has always been one of the most exclusive events of the year. Will you be there?”<br/>
<br/>
“I am planning to, yes. Gotta ensure everyone has a champion time, after all!” He winks to the camera, and Sonia rolls her eyes at the audible screams of the girls in the audience.</p><p>“Will you be bringing a plus one with you?” There’s a sparkle in the interviewer’s eyes, and something changes in Leon’s. Something that Sonia recognises as fleeting fear- even Hop hums at the expression.</p><p>“Uh, yes! I… well, I’ve been keeping it quiet, but I suppose now is as good a time as any to announce that I am seeing someone.” Leon’s eyes shift to the floor, hands curling into fists at the sounds of disappointment from the audience.</p><p>“What?” Comes Sonia’s response, completely drowning out any reaction from the interviewer. She turns to Hop, who looks as confused as she feels. “Who is your brother seeing?”<br/>
<br/>
“No idea,” Hop says with a shrug. “No one, as far as I know. He was lamenting being single and lonely like, two weeks ago.”<br/>
<br/>
“Really? That surprises me.”<br/>
<br/>
“He drank too much at dinner.”</p><p>“That’s all the time we have for today!” Cheers the presenter, getting to her feet and pointing to Leon. “Thank you to the one and only Leon for his time today! We’ll be back tomorrow with Cara Liss. See you then!”<br/>
<br/>
Sonia turns off the TV with an anticlimactic click. Her and Leon have been close recently, so why would he not tell her about something like this? The gears turn in her mind- maybe it’s someone she knows, and he doesn’t want to put them under any pressure. Maybe it’s a forbidden romance- Arceus, she hopes not- he could do without the press from such an event.</p><p>“Sonia, we should get back to work. We were really close to finishing that data analysis before lunch,” Hop suggests, rinsing the crumbs off his plate at the sink. She hadn’t even noticed he’d moved; she was so caught up in her own thoughts.</p><p>“Oh, of course. Find where we were, I’ll just wash up.”<br/>
<br/>
Hop scampers off with his usual amount of enthusiasm, leaving Sonia at the table, alone with her thoughts. Leon and her are nothing more than friends, and they never have been. Not once has she seriously considered dating him- okay, the thought has crossed her mind, but it would be weird, she thinks, to date someone that she’s known literally forever, and gets along with so well.</p><p>So why does this bother her so much?</p>
<hr/><p>Sonia is almost ready to head to bed when a knock comes to her door. She pauses in her tracks, debating whether or not she wants to answer the door in faded Yamper pyjamas with her hair tied up on top of her head. The knock comes again, heavier, more urgent, and so Sonia answers the door to see a panicked Leon on her doorstep, dripping wet from the rain.</p><p>“Is your Gran in?” He asks, as if that’s ever stopped him from coming in before.</p><p>“No, she’s still in Alola. Is something the matter?”<br/>
<br/>
“Yes, I have an issue. Can I come in?” He looks more frazzled than she’s ever seen him before, and with a sigh, she moves out of the way to let him across the threshold, closing the door behind him.</p><p>“Cup of tea?” She asks, not even waiting for his response before putting the kettle on.</p><p>“I’m not staying long,” Leon says, but that’s not a no, so she puts two tea bags into two mugs- her Yamper one, and the plain black one that’s more or less his, even if she won’t admit it.</p><p>“What’s your problem, then?” Sonia asks, passing Leon a cup of tea as she settles into the seat opposite him at the kitchen table. This seems to be how they talk nowadays- rarely over the phone, or in any other setting. Not that either of them complain- it’s nice, getting to sit down like this, a break from their busy lives.</p><p>“Did you see my TV interview today?” Leon cradles his teacup, staring into the liquid rather than making eye contact with Sonia.<br/>
<br/>
“Oh?” She replies, trying her best to forget the feelings of confusion and rage surrounding Leon’s mysterious significant other. “Yes, Hop wanted to watch it at lunch today.”<br/>
<br/>
“Well, then you saw me say that I would be bringing someone special to the Pokémon League gala. Sonia, I literally don’t have anyone! I made that up on the spot, and my agent has been calling me all day demanding to know who my secret lover is.”<br/>
<br/>
Now he’s gone from cradling his teacup to holding his head in his hands, and Sonia isn’t sure she can remember a time where he’s looked so stressed in all her life. This isn’t like him at all- the Leon she knows is so carefree and smiley, and-</p><p>“Wait!” He says, before she even has time to formulate a response.</p><p>“What?”<br/>
<br/>
“Come to the Gala with me.”<br/>
<br/>
“A-are you <em>serious</em>? I can’t go to the Pokémon League Gala with you. I’m not a trainer anymore.”<br/>
<br/>
“No, but you can get in as my plus one.”<br/>
<br/>
His words echo around the kitchen, each of them taking in the exact implications of what Leon is suggesting. He realises first what that proposition means, and he goes straight back to holding his head in his hands. Sonia realises moments later, and bites down on her lip to prevent herself from laughing. She clears her throat, and Leon peers out at her from the gaps in her fingers.</p><p>“Is going without someone going to affect your career?”<br/>
<br/>
“No, I don’t think so. My public image, maybe… but my agent is good. She can sort things for me. I’m sorry to ask you… it’s my fault for being stupid enough to announce on live TV that I had a ‘special someone’. Arceus, this is the biggest mess I’ve ever gotten myself into…”<br/>
<br/>
“Really? <em>This </em>is? Not the time you chased a Rhyperior in the Wild Area, or the time you got lost in the mines and nearly drowned, or the time you ended up in hospital for a week the day before the Champion Cup because you got a head injury saving the country from Eternatus? Really, Dandelion, the biggest mess is pretending you have a girlfriend when you don’t?” Sonia teases, sticking her tongue out at him. To his credit, he laughs- all those things were true, and were definitely bigger crises than the predicament he finds himself in currently.</p><p>“This is something that twelve-year olds do in school when their friends ask them if they have a girlfriend.”<br/>
<br/>
“Is that something you did? Because no one I knew in school did that.”<br/>
<br/>
“Well, I wasn’t exactly in school at age twelve. It was you that went back to that.” Leon smiles. “You always were really smart.” His eyes are gentle, even though the rest of his face is covered by his hands. Sonia can feel her pulse quickening, and she doesn’t like to think what that means.</p><p>“Do you really want me to come with you to the Gala?” Sonia asks quietly, and Leon finally pulls himself up straight.</p><p>“I’m not going to pressure you into coming if you don’t want. But it would solve my problem if you pretended to… to be my girlfriend. Just for the night! And it would be nice to go with a friend anyway.”</p><p>“I think I can manage that. I think training <em>you</em> to be my boyfriend is a bigger challenge though. Have you ever been on a date?”</p><p>“Too busy.”<br/>
<br/>
“Come over tomorrow,” Sonia insists. “We can work all the details out then.”<br/>
<br/>
“What details?”<br/>
<br/>
“If you want a pretend relationship, we’ve got to have some sort of backstory. Everyone knows where we met, so that’s the easy part. And we’ll have to convince everyone that we’re very much in love with each other. And I’m not showing up with you if you’re going to wear <em>that</em>,” Sonia says, gesturing to the outfit he wears to the Battle Tower.</p><p>“There’s nothing wrong with this!”<br/>
<br/>
“Leon, you are frequently named as the worst dressed person in Galar. I think I can improve your public image for this thing by both dressing you well and… pretending to be dating you.”<br/>
<br/>
“Sonia, you are a lifesaver. Honestly, I don’t know what I’d do without you.”<br/>
<br/>
“You’d probably still be stuck in the mines.” Sonia finishes her tea with a flourish, and tries to ignore the way Leon is looking at her. It’s much too gentle to be good for her soul, and she’s slowly coming to the conclusion that maybe she’s in love with Leon, and that’s why she’s agreeing to this crazy plan.</p><p>“The Battle Tower closes at five tomorrow, but I might be able to get here earlier if there are no challengers I’ll need to battle.”<br/>
<br/>
“Do you want to have dinner? I’ll be home about five too, so I don’t mind making something for you.”<br/>
<br/>
“I thought you hated cooking?” Leon laughs, hauling himself up from the chair.<br/>
<br/>
“I don’t hate it anymore. I’m still not a fan, though.”<br/>
<br/>
“Tell you what, I’ll go to Bob’s Your Uncle on the way home from Wyndon and bring takeaway. Sound good?”<br/>
<br/>
“Yep! I’ll see you tomorrow then.”</p><p>She follows him to the door, and watches once more as he disappears up Route 2. He almost seems to have a skip in his step, and Sonia lets herself think that maybe he’s as happy about this plan as she is. She can feel her face warm, and senses Yamper hovering behind her, and suddenly she realises that she let Leon into her home to discuss pretending to be his girlfriend while in her most unattractive pyjamas.</p><p>She’ll make more of an effort tomorrow, she decides, after the lab is closed for the weekend and she has time to do her makeup and pick out an outfit that she hasn’t been sleeping in. She just has to hope that Leon turns up on time, and that she doesn’t embarrass herself in front of him.</p>
<hr/><p>Leon spends the whole day at the Battle Tower thinking about Sonia. He almost loses a few matches because of it- ones that could easily have been won had he been concentrating properly. Her face appears in his mind, with that cheeky smile that she often graces him with.</p><p>As he suspects, he’s able to leave early, and manages to fight off fans on the monorail back to his apartment. He takes Sonia’s comments from the previous day to heart, and picks out an outfit that she hopefully won’t hate. Most of his clothes that aren’t his work clothes are very simple, but he pulls on a red jumper and dark jeans, and calls for a flying taxi while he fixes his hair into a ponytail, recalling vaguely something Raihan said once about putting his hair up.</p><p>The taxi first takes him to Circhester, and the driver graciously waits with Corviknight while Leon orders dinner for himself and Sonia. He remembers Sonia’s favourite order, and a smile reappears on his face when he remembers the girl waiting for him. He really does enjoy spending this time with Sonia, even if now the circumstances surrounding their shared time have changed considerably. He knows the whole thing is just to fool the media, at least until the gala is over, but he reckons he’ll miss spending the time with Sonia.</p><p>He thanks the chef for the food, and runs back out to the taxi, and has Charizard hold the food so it doesn’t get cold on the way back to Sonia’s house. He sends her a quick text to let her know he’s on his way, and she responds with a smiley face.</p><p>It’s a little weird, he knows, pretending to date someone. Especially in this circumstance, when they’ve known each other for practically their whole lives. He pretends that his crush on her as a child never existed, and that he didn’t spend most of his early teenage years pining after her, and-</p><p>Oh no.</p><p>Leon realises with a start that there is a reason he went to Sonia for help, even subconsciously. He asked her to be his date because he <em>likes</em> her, and if he has to pretend to be in love with someone, it won’t be particularly hard to pretend to be in love with Sonia. Arceus, he’s stupid, he thinks to himself. Charizard growls, letting him know that they’ve landed, and he’s been stuck in his head for the whole journey.</p><p>He pays for the taxi, and scarpers up the path to Sonia’s house. His palms are sweaty as he rings the doorbell, and for a moment, he regrets having ever suggested anything to Sonia in the first place. But that regret disappears when she opens the door, and his eyes behold one of the most beautiful people he’s ever seen. Like him, she’s made an effort- white jeans and a yellow knitted jumper. For once, her hair is down, and he only realises he’s been staring when she waves a hand in front of his face.</p><p>“Earth to Leon,” she teases, and he snaps out of his daze, offering her a smile.<br/>
<br/>
“This is Leon, over.”<br/>
<br/>
“Did you bring the dinner? Over.”<br/>
<br/>
“Dinner acquired. Over and out.”<br/>
<br/>
She bursts into a fit of giggles, and drags him inside. He kicks his shoes off by the door, and follows her through to the dining room. She’s already set out plates and cutlery, so he dishes up the food, and settles in his usual spot.</p><p>“Did you take a taxi here?”<br/>
<br/>
“Yeah. He looked suspicious when I paid.”<br/>
<br/>
“Really? Well, that works out well for you. If he says anything, that’s me automatically a candidate for your girlfriend.”<br/>
<br/>
“I suppose, when you put it like that.”<br/>
<br/>
“I’ve come up with a plan, but we can talk about that after dinner. I’m just glad you still remember my order after all these years!”</p><p>“How could I forget? You’re my best friend, I know everything about you.”<br/>
<br/>
Just best friends, he reminds himself, and nothing more. That doesn’t stop him from noticing the downturn of Sonia’s mouth when he says that, or the hint of a blush on her cheeks that he swears he’s imagining. How could he be in love with her? He’s never been in love before, hasn’t thought about dating in years, and…</p><p>“You’re really quiet. Something the matter?”</p><p>“No. Just thinking about this… plan.”<br/>
<br/>
“Finished your dinner, then?” Sonia says, collecting the plates and ditching them in the sink. “Come on. I know you’re so fond of the kitchen table, but the sofa is a lot comfier.”</p><p>Carefully, she offers him a hand, and just as carefully, he takes it, following behind her as she leads him through to the living room. This isn’t a room he’s spent a lot of time in- usually, it’s occupied by the former Professor Magnolia. But Sonia is right- the sofa is comfy, and it allows him to sit side by side with Sonia.</p><p>“Okay,” she says, Yamper settling on her knee. “Step one is to provide clues. We only have just over a week to get this all sorted- the Champion Cup begins on Monday, and the Gala is on Saturday night.”<br/>
<br/>
“Okay. What clues are we leaving, then?”<br/>
<br/>
“W-well… first of all, post something on your PokéGram.”<br/>
<br/>
“But I never use that!”<br/>
<br/>
“Yeah, but you still have sixty million followers. Take a picture with Yamper! Then I’m not in it, but… well, everyone knows I have a Yamper.”<br/>
<br/>
Hearing his name, Yamper perks up, and jumps on Leon, making himself comfortable on his lap. With a sigh, Leon takes out his Rotom Phone, and lifts the puppy up to pose for the camera. An expert in this area, Yamper tilts his head and sticks his tongue out, and Leon grins for the camera, just like the best selfie taker in Galar, Raihan.</p><p>Within moments of posting, Sonia can see that the comments have blown up- part and parcel of Leon never using his social media. Half of the comments are people thirsting over him, a good proportion are people asking if he’ll go to Kanto or Hoenn, and the last ones are asking about Yamper. <em>Who does it belong to?!?!? </em>and <em>Is that your girlfriend’s?</em> are common queries, and the odd comment from someone who has put two and two together- <em>Is that Professor Magnolia’s Yamper?</em></p><p>“See?” Sonia gloats, turning her phone screen to Leon. “Told you it would work.”<br/>
<br/>
“Okay, okay. What’s the next part of your plan? My social life is in your hands, Sonia Magnolia.”<br/>
<br/>
“Some of my other ideas you may not like, but they’ll work. I… if I’m seen leaving your house in the morning, and someone spots me…”<br/>
<br/>
“I get what you’re implying. I have a spare room, so… if you’re not busy tomorrow, you can come over.”</p><p>“Cool. Then there’s the matter of the Gala itself. I was thinking that we could go shopping together. That’s another opportunity for us to be seen together in a more casual setting.”<br/>
<br/>
“We could do that tomorrow too,” Leon suggests. “I’ll be busy all next week with the Cup, after all.”<br/>
<br/>
“Sounds good to me.”<br/>
<br/>
“Sonia, I don’t want to… I don’t want to push anything too far in this whole pretend thing, so… you need to tell me what we can and can’t be seen doing.” He avoids looking at her, mostly so she doesn’t see how red his face is. He’s never dated anyone before, never mind fake dated, so he’s not even sure what the level of acceptable is for real couples.</p><p>“Hand holding is a must. People will think we don’t like each other if we’re not holding hands. You can put your arm around my waist but don’t touch my butt. And… I suppose if it comes down to it, you can kiss me. If we really want to sell it.”<br/>
<br/>
“Um. Okay. Cool.”<br/>
<br/>
“Is all that okay with you?”<br/>
<br/>
“Yes! I mean… yeah. Sounds all good to me.”<br/>
<br/>
“Great! A-are you still free for the rest of the evening? We could watch a movie together. You know, like old times.”<br/>
<br/>
“I’d love that,” Leon says with a sigh of relief. This was familiar territory- he and Sonia often stayed up late as kids watching movies. It didn’t help that now all he could think of was how close their knees are, and how easy it would be to just hold her hand or to snake an arm around her shoulders.</p><p>Halfway through the film, he does just that, avoiding looking at Sonia when he does so. According to Raihan, it’s a ‘classic move’, and he can see Sonia turn her head towards him out of the corner of his eye.</p><p>“You don’t need to do this now,” she mumbles, “no one can see us.”<br/>
<br/>
“I’m just practicing,” he excuses.</p><p>“Okay.” There’s a quiet giggle from her, and then she lifts Yamper onto her knee, scooting herself closer to him to rest her head on his shoulder.</p><p>“Are you practicing too?”<br/>
<br/>
“Yep.”</p><p>They stay like that until the end of the movie, mostly silent but sharing the odd comment. It’s nice, Leon thinks, to be cuddled up like this. When the credits roll, he pulls away from her, lamenting the lack of warmth on his side.</p><p>“I should go.”<br/>
<br/>
“Yeah. I’ll see you tomorrow, though! If you buy anything ugly, I’ll make you take more pictures with Yamper.”<br/>
<br/>
“Not a chance. I have impeccable fashion taste,” he rebuts.</p><p>“You keep telling yourself that, Dandelion.”<br/>
<br/>
“Why do you still call me that?” He laughs. “No one has called me that for years, not even my own mum.”</p><p>“I think it’s cute. Besides, you call me Sonia Magnolia all the time, so I’m definitely allowed to call you Dandelion.”</p><p>“You’ll regret that one day. I’ll remember something super embarrassing you were called when you were younger, and make fun of you too.”</p><p>Leon pulls his shoes back on, still grinning. Sonia follows him out to the hall, sitting on the stairs with Yamper running up and down the hallway. Leon hovers by the door, wanting to say something else to her, because she deserves more than to be a pretend girlfriend and then for him to disappear after having his arm around her shoulder for an hour.</p><p>“Well, I’ll see you tomorrow then. Do you want to have lunch? There’s a nice sandwich place near the Battle Tower.”<br/>
<br/>
“Sounds nice. Text me the address!”<br/>
<br/>
“Goodnight, Sonia.”<br/>
<br/>
“Night, Leon.”</p><p>And then he runs, before he does something stupid like kiss her, because now that he’s had this slightly horrifying revelation, it’s all he can think about. Sonia’s hands, which he knows are soft, and her green nails. Sonia’s hair, and how it frames her face. Sonia’s eyes, that green hue that twinkles when she smiles at him. And Leon knows that he’s just not good enough for someone like her.</p>
<hr/><p>They meet for lunch in a small Wyndon café, tucked away in a side street, out of the view of prying eyes. That’s not to say they’re entirely incognito, but that’s part of the plan anyway. Sonia notices cameras pointed in Leon’s direction, though the owner of the eatery is kind enough to put them in a secluded corner and shoo away any potential annoyances.</p><p>“That PokéGram post blew up,” Sonia says, her voice low so she doesn’t give her plan away.</p><p>“I really don’t understand how any of this stuff works.”<br/>
<br/>
“Maybe you should ask Raihan for a master class. But really, it’s not too hard to put together, since you only follow eight people, one of which is me, and I post lots of pictures of Yamper.”</p><p>Sonia takes a photo of her lunch, all while chatting away to Leon. He watches her with a smile, one that if he saw on anyone else’s face, he’d be extremely embarrassed. She puts her phone back into her bag- a bigger handbag than usual, given her plan to stay at his house- and turns back to her meal.</p><p>“You have a little something on your face,” she notices, and reaches across the table with a napkin to wipe the sauce off his cheek. Leon feels his face heat up at the contact- even if it’s through a napkin, he can imagine how her actual hand would feel against his face.</p><p>“Thanks.”<br/>
<br/>
“Anywhere you have in mind to try shopping?” Sonia asks, which he assumes is a leading question.</p><p>“Well, I know the boutique near the Pokémon Centre sells formal clothes. So… try there first?”<br/>
<br/>
“Nessa usually shops there when she has events to attend, so I’d say that’s a decent starting place. And if it comes with the recommendation of a <em>literal model</em>, it must be good.”<br/>
<br/>
“Wait, have you never been in there before? It’s really classy, I thought it’d be right up your street!” Leon swallows the last of his sandwich in one gulp, practically pulling Sonia to her feet.</p><p>“I don’t have that much money, Leon. I have to be careful, not that I can’t treat myself once in a while.”<br/>
<br/>
“Hop says you go to the boutique in Motostoke every week, though.”<br/>
<br/>
“Hop is a liar. Do not believe a word that boy says,” Sonia says, flushing red at the thought of what Hop could potentially say behind her back.</p><p>“You were just praising him last week!”<br/>
<br/>
“Yeah, for his hard work on becoming a Pokémon Professor, not on spilling all my secrets to his big brother.”<br/>
<br/>
Leon can only laugh at her as he opens the door to the café, allowing Sonia to exit into the bright sunlight first. As he closes the door, there is another flash of cameras from inside, and Sonia is glad she has her back to the window to hide her grin. Her plan is working- everyone is buying this, and they haven’t even set up any of the big things yet. With the Gala still a week away, they have plenty of time to build up suspicion.</p><p>“Should we… hold hands?” Leon asks, and if Sonia didn’t know better, she’d say he was embarrassed to make such a suggestion. Instead of answering, she links their hands together, twining her fingers together with his. It feels oddly natural, she thinks. Their hands fit together almost perfectly, and it forces them closer together.</p><p>The boutique isn’t more than five minutes away, and Leon regrets the lack of contact when Sonia lets go of his hand to open the door. The attendant behind the counter looks almost ecstatic when he walks in, but manages to regain his composure when they approach the desk.</p><p>“We’re looking for formal wear,” Leon asks, with that signature smile plastered on his face. “Can you point us in the right direction?”<br/>
<br/>
“Men’s is to the left and at the back, and women’s on the right in the back also. If there’s anything I can help with, please do not hesitate to ask.”<br/>
<br/>
“Thank you,” Sonia says, before pushing Leon in the right direction, knowing he doesn’t know his right from his left even at twenty-six.</p><p>“I thought you were going to buy something?” Leon ponders as he’s being led by Sonia, who has already spotted the suits.<br/>
<br/>
“I don’t have the money. I have some nice things at home.” She lifts the tag on a silk shirt and pulls a face- that’s almost one whole week’s wages, and the professor position isn’t exactly pocket change.<br/>
<br/>
“I’ll get it for you, if you see something nice.”</p><p>“Don’t worry. I’ll maybe splurge in Motostoke, or something. I’ll find something nice there.”<br/>
<br/>
“Sonia, seriously. Consider it…” Leon lowers his voice, “compensation. For doing this for me. Pick the most expensive thing here, I don’t care.”<br/>
<br/>
“Alright, Mr. I-Have-So-Much-Money, I’ll let you treat me just this once.”  She says it loud enough to be overheard, that much he understands. But the twinkle in her eye is genuine- hidden excitement at getting to wear something that she wouldn’t usually be able to.</p><p>He picks out a few suits, all with varying reactions from Sonia. The ones she okays he brings with him into the changing room, while she waits on a very plush sofa outside, snapping a quick picture in the mirror opposite to post online, just as another teaser. When Leon returns, she almost loses the breath in her lungs.</p><p>She’s never seen him in a tuxedo before, and even his beloved Battle Tower outfit could not prepare her for the sight in front of her. Years and years of jeans and hoodies or sportswear have clearly dulled her impression of him, because truthfully, she’s never seen a more handsome man in all her life.</p><p>The tuxedo is plain black, but the jacket is made of velvet, and it almost seems to sparkle in the fluorescent lights of the shop. The shirt and waistcoat underneath seem to fit Leon perfectly, and even though he has no shoes on, she can see that the trousers are exactly the right length on him. He looks like he’s straight off the cover of a fashion magazine, and Sonia has to swallow hard to stop her from saying something incredibly stupid.</p><p>“So? What do you think?” Leon asks, and Sonia realises she’s been staring.</p><p>“It’s nice.”</p><p>“Really? That’s it? I thought you’d be more picky.”<br/>
<br/>
“Well, I was picky before we got to this stage, so… it fits you well, and it’s not as bad as your usual choices, so I won’t be embarrassed to be seen with you wearing this.”</p><p>“I like it. I’ll probably just take this one.” Leon unbuttons the jacket, and sticks his hands in his pockets, posing in front of the mirror. He’s no stranger to modelling, having graced magazine covers before, but it’s something to see in real life.</p><p>“Not going to try any others on?” Sonia asks, trying to hide the pleading tone in her voice. There was a really nice white one she reckons would look good against his darker skin and hair, but he shakes his head.<br/>
<br/>
“Nah, it’s your turn now! I’m going to find some shoes too, why don’t you get a head start?”<br/>
<br/>
“Sure.”<br/>
<br/>
“Text me when you’re ready!”<br/>
<br/>
She scampers away, trying to calm her breathing down as she heads across the shop. It’s hard to pick out clothes without looking at the price tags and recoiling in horror, and even harder when she has to put the image of Leon in his tux out of her mind.</p><p>She collects an armful of dresses in varying colours and styles, and heads into the changing rooms herself. The first one doesn’t fit at all, so it’s quickly discarded as she tries on a second. This one is better- yellow chiffon, knee length, so Sonia sends Leon a quick text to confirm. As soon as she hits send, she hears his phone chime behind her, and she opens the curtain to see him grinning at her.</p><p>“Come out! Stop hiding!” He’s pouting now, so she scoots around and poses in front of him.</p><p>It’s a cute dress, but it’s clear from how self-conscious she looks that it’s not for her. He’s not sure how to put this diplomatically- it’s not often that he has to tell a girl that the dress she’s wearing isn’t right for her.</p><p>“I don’t like it,” Sonia says finally, and Leon breathes a sigh of relief.</p><p>“I think you look uncomfortable. Why don’t you try something longer?” He suggests, and to his relief, Sonia doesn’t look angry, merely nodding before she disappears into the cubicle once again. It takes her a few minutes, and he has to listen to rustling fabric and zips before she re-emerges, and his jaw almost drops to the floor.</p><p>This dress is full length, and a not too dissimilar shade of teal from Sonia’s favourite nail polish. It’s made of taffeta, and manages to be both fitted and loose at the same time. There’s an extra layer too, some sort of scarf thing that Leon doesn’t quite know what it is, but it lies on Sonia’s arms as she has her hands folded in front of her.</p><p>“Well?” She looks happier this time, considerably happier, and Leon can’t stop the smile from spreading across his face.</p><p>“Sonia… you look beautiful.”<br/>
<br/>
“D-don’t say it like that! You’re making me blush.”</p><p>“It’s true! No one will be able to keep their eyes off you at the Gala.”<br/>
<br/>
“Well, if it’s all okay with you, price wise I mean, I’ll go with this one.”<br/>
<br/>
“No bother,” Leon nods. If he gets to have Sonia on his arm all night dressed like that, any price is worth paying.</p><p>When she’s changed, they check out quickly, and head back to Leon’s apartment, hand in hand. He fumbles with his keys, trying to balance a suit bag and a bag with shoes. Sonia swoops in to help, and Leon practically jumps at the contact of her hands against his, despite the hand holding all day.</p><p>Sonia sits down on the sofa, relaxing her feet after a long day of shopping. She pointedly didn’t listen when the bill was read out to Leon, so she has no clue how much money he spent today. Judging by his apartment, he really does have enough money to go around- she supposes that’s the salary of someone who’s been Champion for eleven years.</p><p>“I don’t really have much food in for dinner… so takeaway again?” Leon asks, falling onto the sofa beside her, phone in hand ready to order.<br/>
<br/>
“I’m going to put on a serious amount of weight if we keep this up. But yes. I could really go for a coconut curry,” Sonia agrees.</p><p>“You could go to the gym with me. Or Nessa, she’s there sometimes too.”<br/>
<br/>
“I don’t have time for the gym. But it’s almost time to start on the breeding programme for next year’s Champion Cup, so that’ll keep me on my feet every day. I always thought Scorbunny would be the hardest to look after, but it’s definitely Grookey. They always get so high up, and I have never figured out how they do it.”</p><p>“They’re just full of energy! Hop still talks about his Grookey now, even though it’s all grown up.” Leon nods sagely. The curries are ordered, and the two end up curled up at opposite ends of the sofa.</p><p>“Hey, I was thinking,” Sonia starts, gaining Leon’s attention. “Why did you go on your Gym Challenge at ten, but Hop went at sixteen?”</p><p>Leon is quiet for a moment, and Sonia can see him thinking, really, truly thinking. He knows the answer, of course, but he seems conflicted over whether or not he should tell her. Whether or not he <em>can</em> tell her. When he looks up, Sonia is smiling at him, and he takes a deep breath.</p><p>“Mum was scared out of her mind after I became Champion. She read up online about child stars, and didn’t like what she saw. She insisted that Hop stayed in school- I was fifteen when he turned ten, and he put up such a fight and ran away from home.”<br/>
<br/>
“Oh, I remember that. He got as far as the lab to ask for a starter Pokémon before Gran phoned your mum and sent him home.”</p><p>“Yeah,” Leon laughs, but there’s no humour behind his laugh at all. “Anyway, it was around then that mum found out about all the work I was doing for Macro Cosmos, and she flipped out. There was nothing she could do about it, because Rose had bought me this apartment, and was making sure I was getting paid, and helped me on all of my Champion duties. She also noticed how… unhappy I was, and swore that Hop would never go through anything like that.”<br/>
<br/>
“But you loved being Champion. Didn’t you?” Sonia asks, but now she’s heard all of that, she’s not so sure.</p><p>“Oh, I did. It was my dream for ten years, and I got to live it for eleven. Being the Champion was my entire life. But I hated everything that went along with it- TV appearances, working for Macro Cosmos and being at Rose’s beck and call… it was a lot. And Sonia, since… since I’m being honest, and you’re my best friend… I still don’t think I’m over Gloria beating me.”</p><p>“Oh, Leon. You have so much talent. You… you don’t need to be Champion. The Battle Tower is your own invention! It’s thriving! And you have the MC position starting on Monday!”<br/>
<br/>
“Sonia, I…” Leon pauses, and swallows hard. “Thanks. That means a lot to me.”</p><p>“Come here,” Sonia says, holding her arms out to him.</p><p>He takes the opportunity to be close to her without a second thought. Her arms close around him as he rests his head on her shoulder, trying his best not to cry. He pulls away slowly, retracting his arms from around her first, and then lifting his head. Their faces end up much too close, and Leon thinks only of how easy it would be to lean in and kiss her. Unluckily for him, the doorbell rings at that moment, and Sonia practically leaps up from where she sits, mumbling something about the food.</p><p>Leon holds his head in his hands while Sonia collects their dinner from the delivery driver. It’s the first time he’s ever told anyone how he was feeling recently- his mum knows well about the older stuff, but even she doesn’t know that he’s <em>still</em> not happy. It’s better now, though, that much he knows, than having to go through the ordeal of being Champion again.</p><p>Sonia sets the bag of food down on the table, and locates forks from the kitchen for them to eat with. She turns the TV on- Saturday Night TV is a welcome distraction for Leon. She hands him his own curry, and sits patiently for him to start eating.</p><p>“One spicy plenty-of-potato curry, just like you ordered.”<br/>
<br/>
“Thanks,” he says, finally noticing his food in front of him.</p><p>“Is everything okay? Do… do you want me to go?” Sonia asks, because she’s really not sure what to do in this situation. She’s never seen Leon like this, he’s usually all smiles, pep talks and funny catchphrases. This is different- he looks blank, almost scared, not at all like the Leon she’s known all her life.</p><p>“No. I need you to stay. Please.”<br/>
<br/>
“Of course. Let’s eat, then.”</p><p>Thankfully, Leon picks up his takeaway box, and starts on his food. With the TV up loud, and Sonia’s running commentary, and a good dinner, Leon begins to cheer up a little. Sonia shuffles along the sofa closer to him, showing him the comments on their respective PokéGram posts, and he finally laughs as she points out the most ridiculous.</p><p>When it gets dark, Leon already looks tired, and so Sonia sends him off to bed before she heads into the spare room herself. Clearly, he’s changed the bed linens himself, as they’re buttoned up all wrong at the bottom, but it’s kind of sweet, so she ignores it, climbing under the covers. Her mind is racing, from the lunch they shared earlier, to holding hands through Wyndon, and the sight of him in a suit, to him pouring his heart out to her, and how convinced she was that he was going to kiss her.</p><p>“It’s just practicing,” she mumbles to no one but herself. “We’re just practicing.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Comprehension</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>On the night of the gala, Sonia makes a mistake, and Leon finds it very easy to make it up to her.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This got a lot more reception than I thought it would lol thank you all for your comments! I'm sorry I didn't get to them all I forgot lol. The former Professor Magnolia makes an appearance this chapter! I picked Flora as her first name because I couldn't find an official first name for her and that's her name in another language :)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>{09:26} Sonia: Well, we got what we wanted!</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>{09:26} We made the front cover of three newspapers, and the internet is going mad.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p><em>{11:42} Leon: Good to hear</em> 👍</p><p>
  <em>{11:45} Sonia: Did you only just wake up?!<br/><br/></em>
</p><p>
  <em>{12:05} Leon: Sorry!</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>{12:09} Sonia: It’s a good job we’re not really dating.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>{12:09} Sonia: You take so long to reply I think I’d die.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p><em>{12:21} Leon: You know you love me </em>😘</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>{12:24} Sonia: I probably won’t get to see you until Saturday, but I’m cheering you on for your MCing this week! I’ll call you some other time to make arrangements for the gala.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p><em>{12:29} Leon: Thanks! I’m missing you already. </em>😭</p><p> </p><p>“Are you texting my brother?” Hop asks, peering over Sonia’s shoulder with a grin. She locks her phone at the speed of light, setting it down on the table, screen down.</p><p> </p><p>“No.”<br/><br/>“I saw his name!”<br/><br/>“It’s none of your business, Hop.”<br/><br/>“You’ve been texting him all morning! You’ve barely got anything done, don’t think I haven’t noticed.”<br/><br/>“Oh, are you my boss now?” Sonia asks, flicking Hop’s forehead, effectively removing him from her personal space.</p><p> </p><p>“I was just going to say it’s lunch time. Do you want me to get you anything from the shop?”<br/><br/>“No, I have lunch. But thanks.”<br/><br/>“Okay. But when I get back, you’re telling me all about this! “<br/><br/></p><p>Sonia mumbles a semi incoherent response, but Hop is out the door before she can think of a proper answer. Instead, she immediately lifts her phone, nails clicking against the screen as she taps through to Leon’s contact. She presses call, and prays that he picks up.</p><p> </p><p>“What’s up?” Leon asks, voice immediately full of concern.</p><p> </p><p>“Nothing to worry about. Nothing big, anyway. Your brother is suspicious. What do I tell him?”<br/><br/>“Is he there now?”<br/><br/>“No, he’s getting lunch. He’ll be back soon though.”</p><p> </p><p>“Just tell him the truth. He’s smart, he’ll know to keep his mouth shut.”<br/><br/>“You better be right. I think Hop is too smart for his own good, sometimes,” Sonia sighs, moving some paperwork that the man in question was working on earlier into a new pile.</p><p> </p><p>“Ha! You’re probably right.” There’s a pause before Leon speaks again, and Sonia can feel herself missing his voice in the few seconds. “Hey, come over tonight.”<br/><br/>“I can’t. I have a lot of work to do for the lab today, and then I have to pick Gran up from the airport. Oh, Arceus above, I’m going to have to tell her about all of this too.”</p><p> </p><p>“She’ll understand. And I get it. Are you free at all this week?”<br/><br/>“If we can meet somewhere in the middle, I can probably squeeze you into my schedule,” she laughs. “Are you free Wednesday evening, or is there a cup match?”<br/><br/>“Wednesday is the start of the Finals… that’s an evening match, but I’m free until five?”<br/><br/>“Lunch then? In Hammerlocke?”<br/><br/>“Can do! I’m glad we can see each other again before… before the big day. Oh, that makes it sound like we’re getting married, sorry. You know what I mean!”<br/><br/>“I get it, don’t worry.” Sonia can laugh at this, but that’s not to say that she doesn’t feel her face flush at the prospect.</p><p> </p><p>“Cool, cool. Oh, my agent’s coming, I have to go. Love you! Bye!”<br/><br/>“Leon-“<br/><br/>The line cuts out before she can finish formulating a sentence. Logically, she knows that was just because his agent was there, and they have to keep up appearances. But hearing those words from his mouth make her heart race faster, and she hopes, even just a little bit, that maybe one day he’ll say those words to her for real.</p><p> </p><p>Hop is standing in front of her desk before she’s even realised it, and has such a big grin on his face that Sonia swears it’s contagious. He sets his sandwich down, but Sonia’s reflexes are still fast, and she glares at him. He slinks away to the table in the kitchen, and with a sigh, she follows him. Her own lunch is pulled out of the fridge (last night’s leftovers), and put into the microwave. The low hum is background noise for Hop’s questioning.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay, so, what’s going on here?” He asks, mouth full of sandwich.</p><p> </p><p>“What do you want to know?”<br/><br/>“Well, Leon was crying over not dating anyone three weeks ago, and you were so surprised when he announced he was dating someone last week! And now you’re all “love you” on the phone? Like seriously, Sonia, this is so weird!”<br/><br/>“You heard the love you? Oh, this is extra embarrassing.”<br/><br/></p><p>“Explain, Sonia. I need to hear this drama!”</p><p> </p><p>“Your friendship group <em>cannot</em> be lacking in relationship drama. But anyway… we’re not really dating.”<br/><br/>“You… what?” Hop looks beyond confused, and just on time, the microwave pings, giving Sonia a few seconds to get her story straight as she stirs before she puts it back in to finish cooking.</p><p> </p><p>“Leon made that thing up on TV. And then he came over to mine to lament his mistake, and asked if I’d pretend to be his girlfriend for the gala.”<br/><br/>“And you said yes, because…”<br/><br/>“I’m helping out a friend?” She’s clutching at straws- there’s no way she can tell Hop that she is actually in love with Leon. “We have everything planned out- being seen in public together, PokéGram posts…”<br/><br/>“Leaving his apartment on a Sunday morning?”<br/><br/>“I slept in his spare room!”<br/><br/>“Sure you did,” Hop mumbles, taking another bite of his sandwich.</p><p> </p><p>“Is that something you really want to know about, Hop?” Sonia asks. “The details about your brother’s sex life?”<br/><br/>“Okay, you’re right, I don’t really want to think about that. I do want to know what you’re doing when the gala is over, though.”<br/><br/>“We’ll… break up, I guess. Sort of, I mean, since we were never really dating in the first place.”</p><p> </p><p>“Sounds like you don’t know what’s going on.”<br/><br/>“You’re too wise for your own good,” Sonia says. The microwave dings again, and this time Sonia sits down with her lunch. “Don’t tell anyone about this. Not even Gloria.”</p><p> </p><p>Hop pouts, but he drops the subject, deciding to focus instead on his lunch. Sonia swallows hard- if anything, this conversation with Hop has left her with even more questions about the weird relationship that she and Leon have. Maybe it would have been easier if she had just said no to him last week. But then, she thinks, she wouldn’t have got to hold his hand, to rest her head on his shoulder, to hug him when he bared his soul to her.</p><p> </p><p>“You know,” Hop says, interrupting her train of thought, “Lee used to really fancy you before.”<br/><br/>“What? Before when?”<br/><br/>“Back when you were friends ages ago. When you were teenagers.”</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t be stupid, Hop. We barely spoke as teenagers.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m serious, Sonia. I know Leon better than anyone else- I’ve had to live with him forever.”<br/><br/>“He’s lived in Wyndon since he was sixteen,” Sonia points out.</p><p><br/>“That’s probably illegal. But honestly, Sonia, he used to talk about you a <em>lot</em>.”<br/><br/>“I think your lunch break is probably up, Hop.”<br/><br/>“Not true! I’ll stop talking, though. Sorry.”<br/><br/>His apology reminds her so much of Leon’s own sheepish sorrys- clearly, this is something that runs in the family. Sonia breathes a sigh of relief- even if he took it in the weirdest way possible, it was good to get this whole thing off her chest to someone else. Now, she just has to figure out how to break up with Leon.</p><p> </p><p>X<br/><br/>Dinner is cooked as the former Professor Magnolia unpacks from her trip. Sonia was unusually quiet in the Flying Taxi, although her grandmother supplied enough anecdotes about Alola that the journey back home wasn’t uncomfortable. She looks happy, and well rested, and Sonia is glad that her Gran looks like she’s actually had time to relax (even if she knows that her trip was not just lying on warm beaches).</p><p> </p><p>The curry is still bubbling away on the stove as Flora Magnolia returns to the room. She takes a seat at the kitchen table- the seat Leon has been sitting in recently, Sonia realises. She’d much rather her Gran was there, though- it’s more natural to see her sitting across from her.</p><p> </p><p>Sonia dishes the dinner up as Flora finishes checking her phone- a recent addition to her life that she seems more than happy about. She begins to eat, her eyes still on Sonia as she pushes her dinner around her plate.</p><p> </p><p>“What’s wrong?” Her Gran asks eventually, only after Sonia actually starts to eat.</p><p> </p><p>“Um. Well, I suppose I should tell you before you hear from anyone else…”<br/><br/>“About you and Leon? I heard, Sonia.”<br/><br/>“Oh. That’s good, I suppose. Are you angry?”<br/><br/>“You know I like Leon. I’m just worried that you’re doing something stupid. Again. You liked him for years before, what changed his mind now?”<br/><br/>“I did <em>not</em> like him, Gran. Not like that. We were friends!” Sonia defends, stuffing more rice in her mouth so that she doesn’t say anything else stupid.</p><p> </p><p>“Sonia, we’ve lived together since you were five. I know what your crushes look like by now. You acted the same about Leon when you were what thirteen, fourteen, as you did about that boy you dated in university. What was his name?”<br/><br/>“He’s not important,” Sonia excuses quickly. “Anyway, it was Leon that asked me out, not the other way around.”<br/><br/>“Unlike last time.”<br/><br/>“There was no last time, Gran.”<br/><br/>“Look, just be sensible, okay? I worry about you… though I’m glad if it’s anyone, it’s someone who knows you as well as Leon.”</p><p> </p><p>“Thanks,” Sonia says with a smile.</p><p> </p><p>“Invite him over for a meal sometime. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen him.”</p><p> </p><p>Sonia panics at this. There is only kindness in her Gran’s eyes, as she takes her plate to the sink and starts on the dishes. Flora is one of the smartest people Sonia knows, and she’ll see right through their act immediately if Leon is here. Then again, if Sonia refuses, she’ll know something is up, and figure things out for herself.</p><p> </p><p>“Are you free for lunch on Wednesday?” Sonia asks weakly.</p><p> </p><p>“I have no plans at all for this week. I’ll be glad to have you two for lunch.”</p><p> </p><p>“Great!”</p><p> </p><p>Sonia excuses herself from the table, hurrying to her room to tell Leon about the change in their plans. Originally, she had planned to tell her Gran the truth about the whole situation, but her mouth had worked without her brain’s involvement, and now her Gran thinks she and Leon really are dating. She turns on the TV- there, the Champion Cup is just beginning, with two young trainers facing off at either end of Wyndon Stadium, with Leon’s voice commentating over the top.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>{19:23} Sonia: Hey, change of plans. Can you get to my house on Wednesday? Gran wants to see you/us.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>She doesn’t expect a reply for hours, may not until tomorrow morning. Instead, she sits back, and watches the match, Yamper on her lap. She remembers one of these trainers from earlier in the year- the boy is from Motostoke, and battling with a Rillaboom that she gave him as a Grookey. Leon is doing a good job at commentating- even if he would really rather be on the field himself, he still seems to be really invested in the battle.</p><p> </p><p>The female trainer Gigantamaxes her Pikachu, and the match is over in a number of seconds. The trainer Sonia knows didn’t react in time, didn’t use Dynamax, and at this stage in the competition, that’s not a mistake that can be made. The show goes to adverts before the next match, and Sonia’s phone buzzes with a new notification.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>{19:47} Leon: No prob! I might head down to Postwick after the match on Tuesday then </em>
  <em>😄</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>She text surprises her, but she supposes keeping up with the whole charade is as important for him and his career as actually commenting on the match. And at least he’ll be able to see his family- she knows he often laments how little time he spends with them.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>{19:49} Sonia: I watched the match! You’re a very good MC.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>{19:50} Leon: Thanks!</em>
</p><p>
  <em><br/>{19:52} Leon: You know this whole thing is very scary I really don’t know what I’m doing at all</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>{19:53} Leon: Also I’m going to be mean to Raihan on Wednesday I’ve already decided</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>{19:54} Sonia: Play nice, now.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>{19:55} Leon: </em>
  <em>😂</em>
  <em> gtg now for the next match! </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>{19:55} Sonia: Good luck!</em>
</p><hr/><p>Leon is already sitting at the kitchen table when Sonia makes her way in on her lunch break. It was an extended break, she explained to Hop, promising herself that she’d stay late in order that all the day’s work was completed. Leon looks more relaxed than usual- and he’s not wearing his Battle Tower uniform, presumably having taken the week off to focus on the League.</p><p>“Hey,” Leon greets, getting up from his chair to wrap an arm around her. His mouth hovers near Sonia’s cheek, but he decides against kissing her, and retracts. “Work going okay?”<br/><br/>“It’s fine. Your brother causes me a lot of trouble. Likes to gossip, surprisingly.”<br/><br/>“It’s his way of being caring,” Leon explains, sitting down again, this time beside Sonia, and not opposite her. This seat is still taken by her Gran, who slides sandwiches across the table to Sonia. They’re a little fancier than the usual ones she would bring to work- usually because she forgets and is rushing in the morning, so ends up making the most basic food possible.</p><p>“You better treat Sonia right,” Flora says, getting straight to the point.</p><p>“Oh. Um, I will, ma’am.”<br/><br/>“No need for the formalities, Leon. We’ve known each other for years.” She bites into a sandwich thoughtfully. “I’ve been saying for a while that Sonia is of marrying age, or at least she would’ve been. Did you know that Sophie is married? Your friend from school?”<br/><br/>“I hadn’t, <em>Gran</em>,” Sonia hisses through gritted teeth. She can feel her face warm- this was not the way she wanted this conversation to go. She thought they would maybe talk about the Champion Cup, about Sonia’s research, not the fact that they should be getting married. She spares a glance at Leon, who is playing the part very well- leaning his head against his palm, staring at Sonia as if she’s the only person on Earth.</p><p>“Leon, what do you think?”<br/><br/>“I think Sonia’s wonderful. But… I think it’s something we would need to discuss more ourselves. Right babe?” Leon smiles at her, and takes her hand. She can trust him, she knows that- and he’s doing a much better job of acting than she is.<br/><br/>“Yeah!” Sonia agrees. “Anyway, Gran, did you see the Champion Cup match last night?”<br/><br/>“Oh, yes. That girl from Hullbury is doing well, isn’t she? With Nessa’s endorsement?”<br/><br/>“I think she’ll win the first round,” Leon confesses, tone of voice shifting to excitement. “Though the Gym Leaders are toughening up this year. And Gloria will be tough to beat.”<br/><br/>“Well, you were tough to beat too Leon. You’re still the longest reigning Champion in Galar history. Gloria has some years to go before she beats your title.”<br/><br/>“Thanks, Professor. That makes me feel a lot better about losing five years ago.”</p><p>“Nonsense, there’s nothing to feel bad about,” Flora dismisses, waving a hand idly. “You lost one battle in your entire career. Gym Leaders lose weekly. You’re much more talented than you’re giving yourself credit for.”</p><p>Leon swallows hard, hiding his face behind a mug of tea. Sonia glances sideways and meets his eyes, and seeing the discomfort reflected there, she polishes off her own lunch, and gets up from the table.</p><p>“Gran, we’re going to go for a walk before I have to go back to work. This is the only time we’re getting to hang out this week so… I’ll see you later!”</p><p>Hurriedly, she shoos Leon out of the house, and begins the long walk back up Route 2 with him by her side. He seems a little more relaxed now, even happy, but she’s not sure it’s because they left. What her Gran said was more or less what Sonia has been trying to put into words since Saturday night, and she’s a little annoyed that her Gran managed to help Leon and she didn’t. They settle on a fence, one that was comfy as children, but creaks under their weight as adults.</p><p>“Are you okay?” She asks, timidly. Leon glances down at her, with a soft expression she has rarely seen on his face.</p><p>“I think so, yeah. Your Gran is so smart.”<br/><br/>“Leon, you say that about everyone.”<br/><br/>“Well, I’m not smart, so-“<br/><br/>“Completely untrue. You just think about things differently. Like you could never be a Pokémon Professor, but I could never be an eleven-time undefeated Champion, could I?”<br/><br/>“You’re something special, Sonia Magnolia.”</p><p>In the dramas she loves to watch on TV, this is the moment where he would lean in, and she would close her eyes, and they would kiss, slow and gentle, and his strong arms would pull him close to her, and his hand would caress her cheek, and when they pulled apart, he would confess his undying love to her, and she would tell him she loved him too. But none of that happens, and Leon continues to sit a few feet away from her, that same soft smile on his face.</p><p>“Is something the matter?” He asks, genuine concern on his face.</p><p>“No, not at all,” she reassures him. “You want to talk about Saturday?”<br/><br/>“Yes. I, um… I had an idea.”</p><p>“I’m all ears.”<br/><br/>“Do you want to come to the match on Saturday? I have free tickets. You can sit in the VIP Box with… well, the other gym leaders who didn’t get through to the Cup Match.”</p><p>“Oh. Yes, I suppose. What about Hop? He’d probably like to go too.”</p><p>“He already got a ticket from me. So you’ll be in great company. Then you can come to my apartment and we can get ready there so we arrive at the same time.”<br/><br/>“Wow, you really have thought this through. Sounds like a good plan to me.”</p><p>“And I’m sorry if… I came on too strong before, in your Gran’s house. I’m just trying to… to play the part well. So this is convincing.”<br/><br/>“I understand, Leon,” Sonia says, with a smile, scooting closer to him. “I’m just… well, I’m glad we can actually spend time together. You’re one of my closest friends, and having spent all this time together in the last week has been super fun. I’ll be sad when we have to break up.”<br/><br/>“Yeah,” Leon says, tone noncommittal. “We can still hang out, though.”</p><p>“I know. But we’re both busy people, and without an excuse like this, it’s going to be hard.”<br/><br/>“Every other week then,” Leon says, taking her hands within his own. “Every other week, at least, we’ll meet up to have coffee, or lunch, or dinner…”<br/><br/>“I’d like that.”</p><p>This time, Leon does lean in, though it’s so slow that Sonia thinks she’s imagining it at first. She’s not sure whether or not he’s going for a kiss, so she stays still, keeping her eyes locked on his lips, trying to figure out what he’s doing. And then her phone rings, interrupting the moment. Leon pulls away, not that he’d gotten that close yet, and Sonia immediately regrets leaving her phone on. It’s Hop, she laments, and she answers, just in case the lab is on fire (though she reckons she could see that from here).</p><p>“What’s up, Hop?”<br/><br/>“The researcher from Kalos is on the other line. He said it was an important call?”<br/><br/>“Oh Arceus, I forgot about that… tell him I’ll phone him back in ten minutes. Sorry, Hop.”<br/><br/>“No bother! See you soon.”</p><p>She hangs up, and looks to Leon apologetically. He only laughs, having overheard the conversation. He gets up, and helps her to her feet, pressing a kiss to the back of her hand. He freezes, but manages to pull himself together, laughing awkwardly.</p><p>“Sorry to cut our lunch date short,” Sonia says, twirling the end of her ponytail sheepishly.</p><p>“I’ll walk you back to work. I’d like to see Hop… if that’s okay with you?”<br/><br/>“Of course. You… you’re free to stop by the lab any time you like, Leon, you know that.”</p><p>“Good! Two of my favourite people work there, you know.”</p><p>Their walk is brisk, with Sonia on a time limit to get back to her office. This researcher is an important contact in her own research into the history of Galar- the history of Kalos is very deeply intertwined. And she would like to compare energy readings of Gigantamaxing with that of Mega Evolution, but that’s a research paper for another time.</p><p>“I’ll see you on Saturday,” Sonia mumbles as they reach the lab door. “I need to take this call, so I probably won’t see you before you have to leave for Wyndon. Try to be on time, okay?”<br/><br/>“I will. See you later.”<br/><br/>Sonia is the one that takes the initiative, and leans up to kiss him on the cheek, before rushing into the lab, leaving Leon looking vaguely confused on the doorstep.</p><hr/><p>Leon waits expectantly for Sonia to ring the doorbell. It’s a little sad, he thinks- today is the last day they have to pretend to be together. Ideally, he would like to stay with Sonia, to pursue a real relationship with her, but he has no idea how Sonia feels about him. His fingers absently brush against his cheek, where she pressed her lips just a few days previously. That little amount of contact has kept him awake for nights- combined with holding hands at the weekend, and her holding him while he tried not to cry.</p><p>He’s been feeling a lot better recently, thanks to Sonia and her Gran’s words. Doing the MC job has helped too- seeing battles from yet another angle has helped him think about what exactly he’s doing with his life. He enjoys the commentary side, and has thought about speaking to Sonia too see if there’s anything he can do to get into that sort of thing as a more permanent role. After all, he knows more about battling than almost everyone he can think of.</p><p>The doorbell rings, and Leon practically runs to the door to answer. She slips inside the apartment without a second thought- she’s only visited once or twice, but he’s glad she feels so comfortable there. He can imagine her sitting on his sofa every evening, tired from work. He thinks about them making dinner together, raising their Pokémon side by side, and then they fall asleep at night, tucked under the covers, held in each other’s arms. He’s staring, he realises, and snaps out of his daydream.</p><p>“Are you ready to go? It’s a bit of a walk to the Stadium, so we can take the monorail or a taxi if you want.”<br/><br/>“I don’t mind walking! Just got to change my shoes.” Sonia sets down her bags at the end of the sofa, and changes out of her fancier heels for the comfier boots he sees her wear so often. Her lab coat is abandoned in favour of a light jacket, a very similar colour to her eyes. He feels very underdressed beside her- the Pokémon League uniform he was supplied with isn’t the most interesting.</p><p>“How much stuff did you bring?” Leon laughs, regarding her luggage with a raised eyebrow.</p><p>“I have makeup, hair stuff, my dress, pyjamas, clothes for tomorrow… not to mention the outfit for tonight.”</p><p>“About that…”</p><p>“What?” Sonia says, finishing lacing her boots with a suspicious look in her eye.</p><p>“I was given a room at the Rose of the Rondelands for tonight. For… for us. It would probably be comfier than my spare room, but if you don’t want to, I completely understand.” It’s a little more than he’d be comfortable with personally, but if they were to turn down a night in such a nice hotel, it would make them look suspicious, and they’re so close to completing their objective.</p><p>“Um! Sure, why not,” Sonia manages to say, and Leon doesn’t fail to notice how red her face becomes. “It’ll be like old times. Remember we used to have sleepovers all the time?”<br/><br/>“Yeah, before your Gran decided you couldn’t have boys in your room anymore. And I was kicked out on my ear any time she caught me.”</p><p>“She was always convinced teenage boys were all up to no good,” Sonia laughs, pausing for a moment, remembering what Hop said to her earlier in the week. “And they are!”<br/><br/>“I’ve never been up to no good in my life,” Leon says innocently. “I would never do anything to besmirch your honour, fair maiden.” He swoops in to lift her bags, leaving the dress and shoes and the Yamper shaped bag he recognises as Sonia’s makeup bag. He has his own backpack too, slung over his shoulder after he pulls a jacket on over the League uniform. “I’ll drop these at the hotel before the match starts. You have a VIP box to get to, though.”<br/><br/>“Thanks again for the tickets.” Sonia follows him out of the apartment, hovering by the door as he locks up. Her fingers slide between his without a second thought- not that this is something for him to complain about at all. “I’m glad I get to see a Gloria versus Bede match live! I’ve missed all their exhibition matches, and had to watch on catch up.”<br/><br/>“She always seems to pick him,” Leon hums. “Has quite a soft spot for him.”<br/><br/>“He’s a good trainer. And he was her rival when she was doing the Gym Challenge. Well, one of her rivals, anyway.”<br/><br/>“I think Hop would’ve made a good Gym Leader.”<br/><br/>“Probably. Bede was chosen, though. I can’t really imagine Hop as the Ballonlea Gym Leader, can you?”<br/><br/>“No, I suppose you’re right.”<br/><br/>From his peripheral vision, Leon can see the familiar flash of a camera, but like a good pretend boyfriend, he keeps his eyes trained on Sonia at all times, ignoring the urge to turn around and look to see which newspaper wants their photo now. His romance with Sonia, pretend as it may be, has proved to be popular, and has done wonders for his public profile- his agent has even mentioned more small jobs in the upcoming months, ones that he had back when he was Champion, but had to give up for the Battle Tower.</p><p>They talk idly all the way to the stadium, where Leon pauses, pulling Sonia to the stands to have a quick look before they head their separate ways. Sonia can spot the other gym leaders in the distance- she’d agreed to meet with Nessa so they could sit together.</p><p>“We’re close now,” Leon mumbles, lifting a scarf from a trader, feeling the fabric and setting it back down again. “We just have to get though today, and we can pretend that this never happened, and go back to the way things were before.”<br/><br/>“Leon… what if I don’t-“<br/><br/>“Excuse me,” a small voice calls from behind Sonia. “Are you Leon?” There’s a girl there, who couldn’t be older than six- not really old enough to remember the time when Leon was champion.</p><p>“That’s me!”<br/><br/>“Can I have your autograph, please?”<br/><br/>“Of course!” He squeezes Sonia’s hand before letting go, and she takes this as her cue to leave and join the others. The words were on her lips, so close to telling him how she really felt, what she really thought about this arrangement, why she even agreed in the first place. But those words are lost on Leon, she understands.</p><hr/><p>Gloria wins the match with ease, and from her seat in the VIP box, Sonia relaxes when she hears Leon announce that the Champion remains undefeated for another year. She can’t see him from here, but it’ll only be a matter of time before she gets to check in on him again, to make sure that he’s still okay. She enjoyed getting to watch the match live, of course, but her mind was on Leon more than it was ever on Gloria and Bede.</p><p>No one in the VIP box seems to feel bad for Bede. Everyone cheers Gloria’s name as her Cinderace bounces back across the field towards her and she wraps her arms around her favourite Pokémon. Bede himself doesn’t even look that upset- the big screen shows a close up of his face, the hints of a smile pulling at the corner of his mouth. He and Gloria shake hands, and with that, the Champion Cup is over for another year.</p><p>Sonia is glad of her boots when she has to wait for half an hour for Leon to finally appear from the stadium. It wasn’t his fault of course- as the biggest event in the Galar calendar, there are thousands of people in attendance, and it takes a while for security to let the crowd empty out of the stadium. When Leon appears, he’s grinning, and it seems so natural on his face that for a moment, Sonia forgets that he was so nervous about this match. He jogs over to her, pausing awkwardly a few steps away. He rubs the back of his neck- a habit that he seems to have picked up when they were kids.</p><p>“Well! Didn’t I do a good job?” He asks, that smile still plastered on his face.</p><p>“You were wonderful,” Sonia soothes, taking his hand to lead him away from the stadium. There are still a lot of people around, and she can hear the whispers that come from this simple action. But there’s no time to wait- she has to get her hair and makeup done, and they only have an hour or so before the gala is due to start.</p><p>“Gloria really is a great trainer. I’m glad if anyone had to beat me, it was her. She seems to really enjoy herself on the battlefield.”<br/><br/>“How are you feeling after all that?” Sonia asks nervously, glancing up at him. Surprisingly, he smiles when he looks back down at her.</p><p>“Great, actually. It’s been kind of therapeutic, actually, being involved so closely with the whole event. I’ve been considering… looking into how I can do stuff like this more often.”<br/><br/>“Really? Oh Leon, that’s great!”<br/><br/>“Yeah.” He looks rather sheepish to admit it, but Sonia’s support means more than he can say. Even if there’s a lot still to sort out, he’s certain that this is the right path for him now- a Leon that’s sixteen years older than the Leon that became Champion.</p><p>“I’m here to support you, okay? Whatever you need.” Sonia is grinning now too, but Leon doesn’t have it in his heart to tell her that what he needs is her, by his side all the time, rather than just to support him from a distance.</p><p>“Thanks, Sonia. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”<br/><br/>They reach the apartment in record time, and Sonia immediately sets about getting ready. She’s gone into Leon’s spare bedroom before he even notices her leave, taking all her stuff with her. It won’t take him long to get ready- just a quick shower, then put his tux on and make sure his hair is presentable. From the other room, he can hear Sonia moving about, mumbling to herself, and makes sure he’s mentally prepared to see her in that dress again.</p><p>Once he’s showered and dried, it only takes him moments to get dressed, and he finds himself in front of his mirror, pulling his hair back into some sort of ponytail and trying to get it to sit smoothly. He finishes off his look with a snapback he’d carefully selected from his collection- the same one he bought the day after Gloria defeated him. Leon pulls his shoes on, just as a knock comes to his door.</p><p>“Are you done?” Sonia asks through the door, and if he didn’t know any better, he’d say that she sounded nervous.</p><p>He opens the door in response, and almost forgets how to breathe when he sees her. Somehow, she looks even prettier than she did last week, but whether that’s due to the glitter on her eyelids, or shoes that match the dress, or her hair down around her shoulders, or maybe just his imagination, Leon isn’t sure. She has a curious expression on her face, one that Leon can’t figure out until she opens her mouth.</p><p>“You’re not <em>seriously</em> going to wear that hat to this are you?”</p><p>“You look really beautiful,” he manages to say in response, to which she only sighs.</p><p>“It’s a black-tie event, Leon,” she says, reaching up to remove the hat and fix his hair. She’s barely any shorter than him, but to him, the two-inch difference in their height is much too far away for her to be. “But thank you. You don’t scrub up too bad yourself!”</p><p>“Will I call a taxi?”<br/><br/>“Probably a good idea. There’s no way I’m walking all that way in these shoes.”<br/><br/>When the Flying Taxi does arrive, Leon helps her up the step before getting in too, and he sits a little too close for two people who are supposedly just friends. This was definitely the right idea, as they arrive at the hotel in a matter of minutes. There are a million reporters outside the venue, and a red carpet, and Sonia begins to feel nervous as the taxi makes its descent.</p><p>“I’ve never been to an event like this,” Sonia hisses in a whispered confession. “I have no idea what to do.”<br/><br/>“Just hold on to me, okay? We’ll get through this just fine.”</p><p>And they do. Sonia takes Leon’s arm, and tries not to blink too much when the camera flashes go off in her face. In the distance, she can just about make out the silhouette of Piers, and relaxes a little- she’s close to being inside, away from the bulk of the reporters and in with people she actually knows. Nessa already warned her about the few people from the press that made it inside- usually one or two newspaper journalists, and the TV Crew from Galar News Now. Sonia spots the camera crew as she goes in, but both she and Leon pointedly ignore their clamours for an interview.</p><p>With a glass of the finest champagne from Kalos in her hand, Sonia feels a little more at ease, and she takes her hand from the crook of Leon’s elbow. He glances at her, worried, but she just smiles, and his smile returns at that. Somehow, Sonia thinks, with all the bright lights of the hotel’s ballroom, his smile is even more dazzling than usual.</p><p>They mingle for what feels like hours, exchanging pleasantries with strangers and catching up with friends they haven’t seen in a while. Piers music career is thriving now that Marnie is the Gym Leader, Milo’s Wooloo are producing more wool than usual this year, which means more money for the knitters in Turffield’s crafting community. Kabu is considering retirement, and moving back to the Hoenn region, he confesses, but he hasn’t quite made up his mind yet.</p><p>After a while, it gets too warm, too overwhelming, and Sonia slips out the glass doors and onto a makeshift stone balcony that overlooks a huge garden on a lower level. She leans over the edge a little, getting a better look at the many plants that adorn the hotel’s garden, one of the features that people come to visit it for. Quietly, Leon slips out too, coming over to stand beside her.</p><p>“Everything okay?” His voice is quiet and low, so different from the Leon she’s gotten used to seeing on TV, and closer to the Leon she knows when it’s just them.</p><p>“Just a bit too warm inside. Who thought it was a good idea to have this event in the summer?”<br/><br/>“Someone stupid a long time ago,” Leon laughs, turning his back on the garden and leaning against the stone supports instead. “Are you enjoying yourself aside from the heat?”</p><p>“It’s nice to see everyone all together like this. And I know I’ve said this a thousand times, but it’s always nice to spend time with you.”<br/><br/>“It’s nice to hear you say it a thousand times. I’m glad I’m good company for someone. I find myself a bit boring sometimes.”</p><p>“Nonsense,” Sonia laughs, swatting at his arm. “You’ve always been fun to be around. I’m not the most interesting company for myself either. It’s just theories about Dynamaxing and the history of Galar in here.” She points to her forehead, and Leon has to suppress a chuckle.</p><p>“And getting your hands on all the Yamper goods you can find.”<br/><br/>“Hey, don’t think I don’t remember your Charizard pyjamas from when you were younger. And your Charizard snapback you were trying to wear today! You’re no better than I am, Dandelion.”<br/><br/>His full name falls off her tongue like she’s <em>trying</em> to break his heart, trying to undo him with just a few syllables. A camera flashes off to the side, likely from inside, but neither of them react, keeping their eyes focussed on each other.</p><p>“They’re watching us,” Sonia mumbles, barely loud enough for him to hear.</p><p>“I’m not surprised. Is that not what we were going for? We’re trying to be convincing.”</p><p>“You want to be convincing?” Sonia asks, swallowing her fear and taking a step closer to Leon. “Kiss me.”<br/><br/>“Wh-what?” Leon splutters, not sure what to make of her sudden demand.<br/><br/>“Kiss me,” Sonia repeats.</p><p>“Are you sure? I mean, that’s… we were just holding hands, and…”<br/><br/>“Did we not agree before that it was okay? I mean… if you don’t want to kiss me, that’s okay, but-“<br/><br/>“Close your eyes,” Leon says, because this is likely the only opportunity he’s ever going to have to kiss Sonia.</p><p>She complies, her eyelashes brushing against her cheeks, displaying her glittery eyelids. Carefully, Leon cups her cheek, and ever so carefully, presses his lips to hers. He’s admittedly not the most experienced kisser, and yet when Sonia’s hands balance carefully on his chest, Leon knows that this is the only place in the world that he wants to be right now.</p><p>There’s another flash from the camera, and at that, Leon knows that now is the right time for him to break apart from Sonia. He pulls away, but her hands stay where they are, keeping him rooted to the spot. There’s something in her eyes that he can’t name, but the way they glisten up at him makes him want to kiss her again. So he leans in, and surprisingly, Sonia meets him halfway, her fingers wrapping in the fabric of the suit jacket, pressing against him as she kisses him with more fervour than Leon ever imagined.</p><p>She pulls away quickly, taking a step back, almost stumbling on her heels. Her hand comes to her mouth, looking more than a little surprised at her own reaction to their kiss. Sonia’s expression is almost horrified, but she’s unable to take her eyes off Leon. His eyes betray confusion, and Sonia swallows hard.</p><p>“I’m sorry,” she says, quiet enough that no one will overhear. Her hands brush over the wrinkles she made in his suit jacket apologetically.</p><p>“Sonia, I…”<br/><br/>“I’m going to go talk to Nessa for a while. I’ll catch up with you later.”<br/><br/>Her words are clinical, almost cold, and she’s gone before he really has a chance to react. When he returns inside, he can see Sonia, standing on the other side of the room, flanked by Nessa and Raihan, talking to Gloria and Hop. There’s a pang in his chest, but Leon pushes past the crowd, and finds himself talking to Gordie and Melony for the rest of the evening.</p><hr/><p>Raihan finds Leon in the lobby of the hotel late on that night, when the party is beginning to wrap up. He’s seen Gloria leave already, with a not-so-subtle Hop leaving not long after her. Melony left a while ago too, and enthusiastically wishes him a good night. It’s not until Raihan sits next to him that he realises how late it actually is.</p><p>“What’s the matter, bro? You look well sad.”<br/><br/>“I think I’ve messed things up with Sonia,” Leon confesses. “I did and said some stupid things this evening.”<br/><br/>“Blame it on the champagne. She’s probably tipsy too, doubt she’ll remember in the morning.”<br/><br/>“You’re not helping, Raihan. You’re supposed to be the smart one out of the two of us!”<br/><br/>“Don’t despair. You’re too pretty for Sonia anyway,” Raihan says, with a cheery pat on Leon’s knee. “I have places to be this evening, after parties to run, so I’ll catch you later.”<br/><br/>“I called her my <em>wife</em>, Raihan,” Leon blurts out, causing the taller man to stop in his tracks. “To Gordie and Melony. I called Sonia my <em>wife</em>. We’ve barely been dating any time at all! It just kinda… slipped out.”<br/><br/>“Oh, Leon, this is quite a mess. I doubt Melony is going to tell anyone- she probably thinks it’s cute, that you’re so into Sonia. Gordie won’t care- he probably wasn’t even listening.”</p><p>“What do I <em>do</em>? She’ll figure out that something is wrong, because she’s the smartest person I know, and…”<br/><br/>“You love her right? You’ll figure something out. Text me if you need anything!” Raihan laughs, increasingly unhelpful as he walks away.</p><p>Leon is almost glad he did, because at that, Sonia emerges from the ballroom. She looks as radiant as she did at the start of the night, and looks almost relieved when she sees him, sitting on one of the reception’s comfy sofas.</p><p>“There you are! I thought… I wondered if I’d maybe made you angry. I want to go to bed, but I also think we need to talk.”<br/><br/>“We can talk in the room,” Leon suggests, getting to his feet, feeling sick to his stomach, taking Sonia’s hand.</p><p>It feels like years between pressing the button for the lift and getting to their room. It feels like years in awkward silence, two people who know their own feelings but are too afraid to admit them to the other, holding hands along an empty hotel corridor because it’s the only contact they can have, and what if someone should see them?</p><p>Leon fumbles with the key, but they successfully make it into the room. He turns on the lights, and tries to ignore the feeling in his stomach that tells him that everything is going to go horribly wrong soon.</p><p>“There’s only one bed,” Sonia points out. Her bags sit on one side of it, and his on the other, and the staff have kindly left a little red Applin shaped pillow in the middle of the pile of pillows.</p><p>“Yeah… I don’t know what you expected, though? I mean, that’s why I asked if you were sure this was a good idea.”<br/><br/>“Oh! I didn’t think about it, honestly. But… I guess it’s okay. I trust you.” There’s a glint of determination in her eyes, an honesty that he hasn’t seen in her in a long time.</p><p>“What did you want to talk about?” Leon asks, taking off his tux jacket and hanging it up.</p><p>“I wanted to apologise, properly, for the way I kissed you earlier, and the way I reacted after. That wasn’t exactly what we agreed on. So I feel obliged to say sorry for my behaviour.”</p><p>“Sonia, you… you don’t need to say sorry. I’m glad that my first kiss was with you, and I’m glad you enjoyed it as much as I did,” Leon grins, feeling obliged to tell her this mildly embarrassing fact about his life.</p><p>“You… I was your first kiss?” Sonia says, looking a little shocked, a little mortified at this information. <br/><br/>“And second!”<br/><br/>“Arceus, Leon. Your first kiss should’ve been with someone you actually liked, not me.”<br/><br/>“I do actually like you, Sonia.” The words are out of his mouth before he can really think otherwise, and they hang heavy in the air.</p><p>“No,” Sonia says, after a much too longue pause in which he can practically hear the cogs in her brain turning. “No, I mean someone you <em>like</em> like.”<br/><br/>“I <em>do</em> like like you, Sonia Magnolia. And I know this is the most awkward place to tell you, and If you want to leave I’ll happily pay for your Flying Taxi all the way back to Wedgehurst, but I need to tell you, or I’ll go mad.”<br/><br/>Sonia stares at him, her bottom lip quivering, threatening tears. Carefully, she reaches down and undoes the buckles on her shoes, falling a further two inches onto the carpet. She sits on the edge of the bed, staring at her knees, hands clenched into fists. Leon sits beside her, a respectable distance away. Sonia turns to him, slowly, regarding his face in new (hotel room, slightly yellow fluorescent) light.</p><p>“Did you ask me to be your fake mystery lover because you… because you like me?”<br/><br/>“Subconsciously, yes. It wasn’t until after that I really realised what I meant. What this meant for us.”<br/><br/>“Leon… you can be so stupid sometimes.” Sonia rests her head on his shoulder, staring into the white fabric of his shirt. “Why do you think I agreed?” Her voice is quiet, almost ashamed to say what she’s admitting to.</p><p>“Sonia…”</p><p>She lifts her head, meeting Leon’s gaze. He can’t quite believe what he’s hearing- it’s all a little confusing. Does Sonia like him too? He feels like he’s on a playground again, and they’ll have a pretend wedding by the benches and Sonia will hold a bundle of mismatches flowers plucked from the grass.</p><p>Before he even has time to react, Sonia’s mouth is on his once again, pressing one quick but insistent kiss to his lips. She pulls back enough to gauge his reaction, but doesn’t need words of confirmation to continue, as Leon pulls her onto his lap, capturing her in another kiss. Her tongue swipes across his lips, and he’s quick to open his mouth enough for her to continue her machinations. Leon is very unsure of what he’s supposed to be doing, but he’s enjoying whatever Sonia is doing immensely. When she eventually drags herself away, they’re both panting, but a grin plasters Sonia’s face.</p><p>“You really are a bad kisser,” she chastises, but she presses a kiss to each of his cheeks. “I… not to ruin the mood, but I don’t want to go any further tonight.”<br/><br/>“Me neither,” Leon admits. “I think learning how to kiss is enough of an adventure for one night.”</p><p>“We should sleep,” Sonia says, a hint of complaint in her tone. She presses another kiss to Leon’s mouth, before climbing off his lap, turning her back to him. “Unzip me?”</p><p>Leon obliges, and has the good grace to avert his eyes while she steps out of her dress and into her pyjamas. He changes while she takes her makeup off and brushes her hair, and by the time she leaves the bathroom, he’s gotten cosy under the covers. Sonia slides in beside him, cuddling close to him when he opens his arms to her.</p><p>“How come you’ve never kissed anyone before?” Sonia wonders out loud.</p><p>“Too busy,” he reminds her. “Too scared to make a move on the woman I like the most.”</p><p>“You’re such a softie, Dandelion.”<br/><br/>“Go to sleep, Professor Magnolia. You’re the one that wanted to sleep in the first place, and then distracted me with your womanly charms.”<br/><br/>“Fine,” she laughs. “Goodnight, fake boyfriend who I will break up with in the morning.”<br/><br/>“Goodnight, fake girlfriend who I will ask out immediately after.”<br/><br/>Leon presses a final kiss to the crown of her head, before resting his head on the pillow, and waiting until Sonia is soundly asleep before letting himself finally, finally, relax.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I promise that the next chapter will be as drama filled as this one :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Satisfaction</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Sonia and Leon have some issues to work out.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>i picked some other pokemon for Sonia for this chapter- Runerigus because of it's weird evolution requirements- I think Sonia would be interested in that, and Alcremie because of all the Gigantamax Pokemon I think she'd like it the most</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sunlight streams in through a small gap in the curtains, illuminating the room and waking Leon from his slumber. It takes him a second to figure out where he is, forcing his eyes to stay open for long enough to take in his surroundings. The hotel room, he remembers, allowing his head to fall back on the pillow. It’s too early, probably, though all he knows is that the sun is up and it’s probably okay for him to get up too. Instead, he rolls over, fumbling blindly for his phone.</p><p>The Rotom quietly beeps that it’s ten a.m., and Leon groans, because he always has lunch at home in Postwick on a Sunday, and his mum expects him there at twelve, and he now only has two hours to get up and dressed and get to Postwick, something that usually takes three hours. As he ponders how to tell his mum he’ll be late, the soft sound of the duvet rustling from beside him, drawing his attention to Sonia, who has woken up and is staring right at him.</p><p>Ah yes. He’d almost forgotten about that.</p><p>“Good morning,” he mumbles. “Did you sleep well?”</p><p>“Yes. You?”<br/><br/>“Fine.”</p><p>It’s more than a little awkward- the two simply hold eye contact for a moment until she breaks and looks away, eyes travelling to the window. Sonia shuffles towards him, still not really looking at him. Her head rests in the crook of his neck, her hand reaching for his own. Not that he’ll ever admit it out loud, but Leon <em>loves</em> this- and can see himself waking up every Sunday morning to Sonia cuddling into his shoulder. Unfortunately, she ruins the mood.</p><p>“We have to break up,” she mumbles into his shoulder. “It’s not you, it’s me. Things just aren’t working out between us. Our careers are getting in the way. You’re too good for me.”<br/><br/>“How many of those lines have you used on actual partners?”<br/><br/>“None. I’ve always been dumped. None of them have ever been used on me either, before you ask. Anyway, you’re not my boyfriend anymore, so no cuddling privileges for you.”</p><p>Sonia draws away, leaving Leon feeling colder than he did before. She lifts her bag from the end of the bed, and starts packing her dress away, taking out a change of clothes while she’s there. There’s nothing he can do but stare at her, revel in the fact that his adolescent crush was in bed with him just seconds previously.</p><p>“I have to get to Postwick as soon as possible, so if you need to get back home, we could share a taxi?” Leon suggests.</p><p>“Sounds great. I won’t take too long getting ready, but if you want to be extra quick, you can change out here.”</p><p>With a plan in place, it takes less than ten minutes for the pair to get ready for the day, Sonia’s hair in her usual ponytail and Leon dressed casually for lunch. Their bags are packed, the bed made, and Sonia finds herself in Leon’s arms, staring up into his eyes. Without thinking, she leans up to kiss him, their lips meeting in another awkward kiss. This morning, she can run her fingers through his hair, sigh as he pulls her in as close as he can manage, and lose herself in the warmth of his mouth.</p><p>When he pulls away, it’s with a pang of regret that she realises they can’t really do this anymore, because they’re not dating, not like they even were in the first place. But she knows, and he knows, and they both are adults and can make stupid decisions like this. And maybe if they continue making stupid decisions, they’ll end up together properly, because even though he said he’d ask her out, he still hasn’t done it yet, and it doesn’t look like he’s going to.</p><p>“We need to leave,” Leon says, cheery as ever, taking her hand like they’re still fake dating (which they both are and aren’t).</p><p>The hotel lobby is more or less empty, with barely any signs of the party the night before. Most people didn’t stay overnight, choosing instead to return to their own homes. Hop sits on the sofas, though, arms behind his head, eyes shut tight. Leon hovers over him, and his brother opens his eyes blearily.</p><p>“I’ve ordered a taxi,” he mumbles. “Is it here?”<br/><br/>“There is a Corviknight outside. Can we share?”<br/><br/>“Sure. I’ll be asleep the whole time.”</p><p>“Do you have a hangover?” Sonia asks, holding out a hand to help Hop to his feet.</p><p>“Yes. I didn’t even think you could get drunk on champagne, but you can, and…”<br/><br/>“I don’t want to know the details, Hop. But you better get rid of this before we get home, or mum won’t be happy,” Leon warns.</p><p>“Oh, hush, you,” Sonia says, swatting at Leon’s arm. “I have painkillers in my bag, Hop, and if the taxi doesn’t mind waiting, we can grab coffee before we go.”<br/><br/>Leon disappears to speak to the taxi driver as Sonia and Hop enter the coffee shop. Hop rests his head on her shoulder, and all Sonia can do is pat his arm gently in reassurance. She pays for all three drinks, and Hop looks at her like he’s a lifesaver before burning his tongue on too hot coffee. The three of them pile into the taxi, and after the painkillers and caffeine begin to kick in, Hop is almost back to normal.</p><p>“So what’s up with you two? Thought you would have broken up by now.”<br/><br/>“We have,” Sonia says. “We’re not even friends anymore.”<br/><br/>“I can’t even look at her,” Leon agrees, pointedly looking out the window.</p><p>“You two are so dumb,” Hop laughs. “No but seriously, what’s going on? Your vibe has changed.”</p><p>“We talked about some stuff last night and this morning, not that it’s any of your business. But we really aren’t dating anymore.” Sonia twirls the end of her hair, too embarrassed at what went down last night to look at either of the brothers.<br/><br/>“You weren’t in the first place,” he points out.</p><p>“Yeah, well we still aren’t now,” Leon clarifies, with a glance in Sonia’s direction that reads “we’ll talk later”.</p><p>“Well, whatever. As long as you aren’t making eyes at each other in front of me every five minutes for the rest of your lives, I’m happy.”</p><p>“We never did that!” Sonia is quick to protest. “We weren’t even going out in the first place!”<br/><br/>“Uh, it’s my eyes that had to witness it, Sonia. Even so, you two have been flirting forever. So either do something about it, or don’t.”</p><p>It seems so simple when Hop puts it like that, that Sonia wonders if she could just tell Leon now that she loves him, and for her it’s more than finding your childhood best friend super hot and distracting all the time, and helping out when he needs a favour. For her, it’s the possibility of having a future together, because there’s no one she wants to spend time with more than Leon. But when she glances over at him from the corner of her eye, he looks a little uncomfortable, playing with the strings on his hoodie.</p><p>Sonia lifts her phone from her jacket pocket, choosing to ignore her usual rule about no work at the weekends and check the emails to the lab’s account. It’s the usual stuff- people already signing up for the next League season, despite the break just beginning. This is the busiest time of year for her, she remembers, and maybe she’ll have to waive that no weekends rule soon.</p><p>The Grookey breeder from Ballonlea has six eggs ready to go from next week, and she shoots off a quick response confirming her availability to pick them up (though she’ll probably send Hop because he <em>enjoys</em> those sorts of errands, while she doesn’t). There’s no word from the Scorbunny or Sobble breeders yet, but there’s still time before she has to worry about it.</p><p>They’re passing Motostoke when she finishes her emails- she’s surprised it took so long, and is almost glad she did it now, so she’s not snowed under by the morning. There’s time now to check her social media- Leon is asleep, and Hop looks more interested in whoever he’s texting- probably Gloria, if last night is anything to go by- than having a conversation. PokéGram is filled with pictures from last night- Raihan’s are posed and elegant, with perfect angles and lighting, while Milo’s are blurry selfies that Sonia has to squint at to figure out who else is in them.</p><p>It’s Swellow.net that she’s more concerned about, however. She dreads seeing the news- she knows there’s a picture of her kissing Leon, and she can only hope that it was the first of the two kisses, and not the second one, where she really let go of her dignity. Thankfully, when she spots the article about the gala, it’s not even the head picture- instead, it’s a picture of Gloria and Bede and the girl with Nessa’s endorsement who Sonia can’t remember the name of.</p><p>No, Sonia realises, it’s worse. They have whole articles about them, their messy first kiss plastered all over the site. It’s the headline that makes her feel sick, though, because she has absolutely no idea what it means.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>
    <em>EX-CHAMPION CALLS PROFESSOR “WIFE”</em>
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</p><p>
  <strong>
    <em>Are they actually married after all?</em>
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</p><p>Even though she knows she shouldn’t, Sonia can’t resist scrolling through the page. She’s only ever had things written about her once or twice- when her book was published, and she became professor, it was all good things, and when she was involved in taking down Rose, her name was mentioned in passing. But this was different- it’s gossip, if she can even call it that when there’s a quote from Leon in it.</p><p><em>Former Champion Leon was overheard talking about Galar’s professor with Gym Leaders Melony and Gordie at the League Gala party last night,</em> she reads, horror overtaking her as she continues to scroll. <em>“Where’s Sonia got to?” Is what Melony asked, followed by Leon’s response- “The wife’s about here somewhere. Probably talking to Nessa.” </em></p><p>
  <em>This may not seem like much, but Leon only confirmed his relationship status two weeks ago, and still hasn’t publicly said anything about Professor Magnolia, though the two have been spotted together multiple times. While our reporter was unable to ask either party about these rumours, it seems clear that there’s something going on here- they don’t even have rings!</em>
</p><p>Sonia glances at the man beside her, asleep with his head resting on the window, and an old familiar feeling of rage bubbles up inside her. She thought he was somehow an excellent actor, but no- he had just gotten lucky, and at the one point where it actually mattered, he had messed up.</p><p>She seethes quietly until they land in Postwick, Leon waking slowly from his slumber. Hop bounces out of the taxi first and into the house, while Leon waits for Sonia to lift her things and help her down. After the taxi flies away, Sonia can’t even open her mouth, and it’s clear to her that Leon has some things on his mind too.</p><p>“We need to talk about somethings I read online,” she begins.</p><p>“Okay?”<br/><br/>“The picture of us was a lead image on an article I read. They also said that… that you called me your wife. Did… did you say that?”<br/><br/>“Yes,” Leon admits, staring at his shoes. “And Sonia, I feel so bad about it, I was only trying to play my part, and it just kinda…“<br/><br/>“Leon, it is <em>so </em>difficult being in love with you. You do and say so many things without thinking of the repercussions. Now everyone thinks we’re married! Or worse, everyone thinks that it’s kinda strange that neither of us is wearing wedding rings, and you insinuated that we were married when we had only been seen together a few times!”<br/><br/>“You… you’re in love with me?” Leon asks, and Sonia can swear that she can hear his heart break when she glares at him in response.</p><p>“If this is going to work,” she mumbles, “you need to think about what you really want, Dandelion. I’m going home. Don’t call me- I’ll call you later, okay?”<br/><br/>And Sonia’s own heart breaks when she turns away and walks back to Wedgehurst.</p><hr/><p>Thankfully, her Gran is out, so Sonia can slip in unnoticed and head straight up to her room. She lets Yamper out of his ball, and immediately picks him up to cuddle him on her knee. Sonia rarely cries anymore, but as she feels tears picking at the back of her eyes, she blinks them away, focussing instead on Yamper’s soft fur.</p><p>She definitely could’ve handed the whole situation better. Leon’s face before she turned her back on him was the saddest she’s ever seen on him. She knows he frequently doesn’t engage his brain before he says or does things, but there’s a level where it goes past endearing and into infuriating. And this is one of those times, Sonia laments, ignoring her phone buzzing every few minutes beside her.</p><p>“Oh, Yamper. What are we going to do?”<br/><br/>The Pokémon yaps gently in response, wiggling around to get comfier. Daring to look at her phone, Sonia sees that the texts aren’t from Leon at all- at least he is respecting her space for the time being. There’s a text from Hop, and a few from Nessa, and one from her Gran telling her she won’t be home until dinner time.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>{14:23} Hop: Hey, Leon explained what happened. Do you want me to beat him up for you?</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>{14:50} Sonia: Absolutely not. I need his face to look nice when I’m not angry with him again.</em>
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  <em>{14:51} Sonia: Sorry, I shouldn’t be bothering you about this. Take care of him.</em>
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</p><p>
  <em>{14:36} Nessa: Yo, what’s going on with you and Leon?</em>
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  <em>{14:45} Nessa: Seriously, Sonia, it never take you this long to respond. Call me when you get a chance!</em>
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</p><p>Sonia’s thumb hovers over the call button, but she’s not entirely sure what she should be saying to Nessa. How much can she say? Can she tell Nessa that they were never really dating, and it was yet another example of Leon thinking without speaking? Arceus, that’s what got her into this mess, and it was clearly what was causing the problem at the minute too. She presses call though, and decides she’ll just have to tell Nessa the truth.</p><p>“Sonia! I’m glad to hear from you.”</p><p>“Hey, sorry I worried you. There’s… a lot going on right now.”<br/><br/>“You need to spill, Sonia. Since when were you married?”</p><p>“I’m not! Leon is… being stupid and saying stuff he doesn’t mean.”</p><p>“Oh no,” Nessa says, and even from the other end of the line Sonia can tell what her expression is. “What’s going on with you two? The whole thing is just… really weird.”<br/><br/>“We weren’t really dating,” Sonia sighs. “He said all that stuff on TV, but made it up, and then came over to my house and begged me to… help him pretend so that he could not look… stupid.” There’s a long pause at the end, and Sonia can hear Nessa sigh.</p><p>“Sonia, you’re as dumb as he is.”</p><p>“Hey!”</p><p>“Why on earth would you agree to pretend to date someone? That’s by far the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.”<br/><br/>“Well…”</p><p>“If you say what I think you’re going to say, I’m going to hang up on you.”</p><p>“I may or may not be… in love with him.”</p><p>There’s a sigh at the end of the phone, and then the line goes dead. Sonia is quick to redial, and Nessa leaves it to the last possible moment to pick up.</p><p>“I can’t believe you,” she says.</p><p>“I’m sorry.”<br/><br/>“Well, it’s not your fault. He must have been particularly charming to sweep you off your feet. You certainly had everyone fooled, to say the least.”<br/><br/>“I don’t even think he has been particularly charming. He’s just… my best friend.” Nessa makes a sort of vomiting sound on the other end, and with how soft Sonia’s voice has become, she really can’t blame her.</p><p>“Gross. Listen, everyone knows that that man is dumb as. But if he makes you happy, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t go for it. But… do you know if he likes you?”</p><p>“He does,” Sonia admits. “We talked last night after we left the party, and…”<br/><br/>“And made out?” Nessa asks, her voice annoyingly smug.</p><p>“A bit.”<br/><br/>“A wee bit, or like, a lot?”<br/><br/>“Somewhere in between. He’ll kill me for telling you this, but he literally has never kissed anyone before. Like seriously, he’s so bad at it.”<br/><br/>“Yikes. Sonia, just be sensible. If you’re going to ask him out… make sure you’re both on the same page.”<br/><br/>“That’s my issue,” Sonia sighs. “I don’t know if we are, since he… called me his wife.”<br/><br/>“See, you may think that’s embarrassing, or stupid, but…” Nessa pauses for a moment. “It’s kinda cute. I don’t know, if someone referred to me in casual conversation as their wife, I’d be glad they feel so strongly about me.”<br/><br/>“I… hadn’t thought about it like that,” Sonia mumbles. “I guess I have to sort how I feel out first, before I go pointing fingers at Leon for… saying dumb things.”</p><p>“You know where I am if you need me.”<br/><br/>“Thanks, Nessa. Talk soon!”<br/><br/>Sonia only feels mildly better after talking with Nessa. In fact, she’s not even sure she feels better at all- because she realises she yelled at Leon for no real reason, and it would’ve been easier to just sit down and talk to him over coffee and sort everything out. But instead, she’s left with the lingering feeling that she’s messed everything up between them.</p><p>It takes her a few hours of moping to face leaving her room- first to feed Yamper, and then to have dinner with her Gran. She’s gotten quite good at acting in the last few weeks, and manages to keep a brave face on during dinner and as she washes the dishes. She’s quick to dismiss herself to her room, using the excuse of having an early start in the morning. It’s not exactly a lie- she does intend to be at the lab earlier in the morning than she usually would be.</p><p>Yamper clambers into bed with her as Sonia scrolls through her social media. Leon has tagged her in a post from last night- just a photo that Raihan took, their fingers twined together, grins on their faces. It makes her heart hurt- and she knows he’s not doing it on purpose, and it would be weird for his followers if he <em>didn’t</em> post anything. But they looked so happy, so in love, and it’s a stark reminder of how angry she was at him.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>{21:39} Sonia: Hey. I’m still not really in the mood to talk tonight, but I’ll check in again tomorrow. I’m really tired. Sorry.</em>
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  <em>{21:41} Leon: It’s okay, I understand. Sleep well </em>
  <em>🙂</em>
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</p><p>It’s probably the fastest he’s ever replied, and that hurts too- as if he’s by sitting by his phone all day, waiting for her to call. She’s hurt him, probably more than he’s hurt her, she realises. And with that, she closes her eyes, and tries not to dream of purple hair and golden eyes and strong arms.</p><hr/><p>Hop is already at the lab on Monday when Sonia arrives, a lot later than she originally intended. It was rare that she slept through her alarms, but she slept through all three today, and had awoken to her Gran banging on the door, demanding to know why she was still asleep. She dressed in a hurry, bringing her makeup bag to work because there’s no way she’s sitting on a video call with Professors from other regions without her makeup on.</p><p>“Everything okay?” Hop asks.</p><p>“Yep,” Sonia grumbles, nearly dropping the key in a puddle that has formed overnight. “There is a <em>lot</em> going on this week, and I’m stressed about your brother too.”</p><p>“Thought you didn’t want to talk about it with me?”<br/><br/>“I don’t, but it’s… at the front of my mind all the time.”<br/><br/>“Do you… do you want me to call him? He stayed at home last night, he’s only ten minutes away.”</p><p>“Absolutely not.”</p><p>“Listen, this has been killing me for the past twenty-four hours. I <em>need</em> to know what’s going on. But if you had sex I don’t want to know about that, so skip over it.”<br/><br/>“We didn’t,” Sonia begins to explain, flicking the kettle on as Hop hangs his jacket up. “When we left the party, we talked a bit, and we both have feelings for each other, and Leon <em>said</em> he was going to ask me out properly then. And then he didn’t in the morning, so I kind of knew something was up with him. But then I read that article in the taxi on the way home, and I got so angry at him, and…”<br/><br/>“You told him not to call you, and he needs to think about what he wants. I heard that from Lee. Honestly, Sonia, he’s crazy about you. He’s been moping for years about you, and I’ve never seen him look so sad as yesterday. He stared at his phone all day, waiting for you to call! And he went to bed right after you said you weren’t.”<br/><br/>“I…”</p><p>Sonia stares at her hands in silence, waiting for the kettle to boil so she has something to distract herself with for a few seconds. If she remembers correctly, Leon should be getting the train at twelve up to Wyndon, so maybe if she times her call right, she can see him then. Her only proper job for today is at eleven, and should be done by twelve… but she can’t get too ahead of herself.</p><p>The hours at the lab drag in, with Hop flitting about helping with paperwork and making up graphs on weekend data, and the call with Professors Sycamore and Kukui, who are more than enthusiastic to help her in her research, and even pointed her in the direction of the current champion in Sinnoh, Cynthia, to help her write her next book.</p><p>As intellectually stimulating as the conversation was, it runs slightly longer than Sonia would have liked, and Sonia finds herself dashing out the door as soon as the call ends, practically sprinting up the road to the train station. Without a ticket, they won’t let her onto the platform, but she can just about see Leon’s familiar purple hair in the window as the train pulls away from the platform. She’s too late, she laments, but somehow, Leon turns around and sees her, across the other side of the barrier. His face falls, but he waves, and she waves back, and then he’s gone.</p><p>The return journey to the lab is different- rather than running, Sonia walks with purpose, long strides that get her to the lab within minutes. She replaces her lab coat with her usual trench coat, lifts her bag and laptop, and takes her lunch from the fridge, dropping the keys to the lab on Hop’s desk.</p><p>“I need to go to Wyndon.”<br/><br/>“Leon will be at work. He’s reopening the Battle Tower today, supposedly.”</p><p>“Guess I’ll need these then,” Sonia replies with a shaky voice, lifting the Pokéballs that sit on her desk one by one.”<br/><br/>“Do you think that’s a good idea?”</p><p>“Can you lock up? I’ll pay you overtime for today since you’re here alone.” She’s avoiding the question, but Hop doesn’t seem to mind.<br/><br/>“You don’t need to do that, Sonia. But I won’t say no to some extra cash. The lab’s in good hands!”<br/><br/>“Thanks, Hop. You’re the best.”</p><p>It’s a forty-minute wait on the next train, and all the money in her purse is gone after buying the ticket. She gets some odd looks on the platform- Professor Magnolia is rarely seen outside the lab, everyone knows, but no one speaks to her, disappearing to their own trains when they arrive. When it’s her turn, she sits by the window, and does some work for the two-hour journey, responding mostly to Hop’s frequent updates on how the lab’s getting on.</p><p>Once Sonia arrives in Wyndon, it’s straight onto the monorail to the Battle Tower. Truth be told, she’s never been here before, and wanders around the lobby confusedly. An attendant is quick to spot her looking lost, and ushers her up to the first counter.</p><p>“Welcome to the Battle Tower!” He greets. “Have you visited before?”<br/><br/>“No, this is my first time.”<br/><br/>“Great! Can I get your name for the records?”<br/><br/>“Sonia Magnolia.”<br/><br/>“Thanks,” the attendant mumbles, clicking away on his keyboard. “Double or single battle challenge today?”<br/><br/>“Single, please.”<br/><br/>“Go ahead into the lift there and you’ll be brought up to the field. Good luck!”<br/><br/>The battlefield is unlike any place she’s battled before. The floor and walls are almost translucent, a strange blue that makes her feel like she’s walking on air. Her first challenger stands across from her- a woman that’s clearly just finished work for the day, and is looking to let off some steam. Leon told her before that the majority of challengers were like this- people who had given up the gym challenge, or had never even entered in the first place.</p><p>The battle doesn’t last long- even though she’s out of practice, the memories of how she used to battle come flooding back to her. Her Pokémon, despite also being out of practice, move in sync with her commands, and the first win comes easy. The next few wins are easy enough too, and a voice comes over the intercom saying that she has advanced to the next tier, and there is a special challenge for that.</p><p>Through the doors at the other end of the battlefield walks Leon, wearing his usual Battle Tower uniform. He carries himself with a certain amount of poise she rarely sees on him, until he reaches his spot and notices who he’s supposed to be battling against.</p><p>“Sonia?! What are you doing here?”</p><p>“I needed to see you,” she confesses. She hadn’t really planned what she was going to do or say to him, hadn’t really thought she’d get this far at all.</p><p>“You didn’t need to come here, you… you could’ve called, Sonia! You didn’t give me a chance to explain anything the other day, to apologise. I… listen, let’s just battle. We can sort this out later.”<br/><br/>He tosses a Pokéball onto the field, revealing his Inteleon. She lets Yamper go up first, and Leon raises an eyebrow- clearly, he doesn’t remember how strong her Yamper is, despite not letting it evolve. The smaller Pokémon growls, but Inteleon doesn’t look at all impressed or intimidated.</p><p>“Use Spark, Yamper!” He barrels towards Inteleon with surprising speed, given how short his legs are, but Inteleon sidesteps. “Now Thunder Fang!” From behind, there’s no way for Inteleon to dodge this time, and he stumbles, taking a considerable amount of damage. This wakes Leon up- if she’s going to take him seriously for a relationship, then he has to take her seriously on the battlefield.</p><p>“Inteleon, Liquidation!” The force of the water hits Yamper full blast, but he shakes it off, eyes still focussed on his target. “Rain Dance!” Thunderclouds surround the top of the room, and then the rain begins, soaking the field and the Pokémon as well as both trainers.</p><p>“Leon, take this seriously! Yamper, Thunder!”<br/><br/>With the rain ongoing, Thunder hits Inteleon full blast, and the Pokémon falls to the floor, leaving Leon shocked. Sonia almost feels bad- she knows he hates losing, but the battle isn’t over yet. Leon returns Inteleon to its Pokéball, while Yamper turns around to Sonia to yap happily. He sends Dragapult out next, and Yamper immediately focusses again.</p><p>“Phantom Force!” Leon commands, and Dragapult disappears, leaving Yamper looking around, confused.</p><p>“Stay still, Yamper. Wait until you can feel it to dodge!” Yamper listens to his trainer’s command, just moving his head to listen to the air around him. But Dragapult is too quiet, and Yamper is floored by the attack coming from his left. The Pokémon faints instantly, and Sonia returns him to his ball.</p><p>“Sonia, is everything okay?” Leon calls from the other end. “We don’t need to finish the battle, I can have it recorded as a tie, if you just want to talk.”</p><p>“Runerigus, go!” Sonia yells as a way of answering. “Leon, don’t go easy on me, okay? We’ve both done some stupid things, so let’s just put it behind us after this, okay?”<br/><br/>“Sounds good to me!” He’s grinning now, she notes, that sadness and surprise gone from his face. “Dragapult, use Dragon Rush!”<br/><br/>“Shadow Claw, now!”</p><p>Dragapult is much quicker, crossing the field in the blink of an eye. But Runerigus has higher defence, and counters without so much as a scratch. Dragapult tumbles backwards, but seems equally as unphased.</p><p>“Flamethrower, Dragapult!” Runerigus prepares to defend, but Flamethrower gets there first. The Pokémon looks fine, but Sonia knows there’s a problem when it starts shaking its hands out.</p><p>“Use Earthquake!” As she issues this command, the rain ceases, and the ground shakes, disrupting the earth and throwing the rubble up to Dragapult.</p><p>“Dragapult, are you okay?” Leon calls, and the Pokémon cries out in a positive response. “I want to win this, Sonia! Use Dragon Rush again!”<br/><br/>“Destiny Bond!” Sonia commands, and for once Runerigus reponds immediately, locking the two Pokémon together. She dares to glance at Leon, and he looks shocked- she’s sacrificing her own Pokémon to win, and when both Pokémon fall onto the field, it takes him a moment to return Dragapult.</p><p>“Good job,” he mutters. “I will admit, I forgot how strong you are. You always were my rival, I guess, and for good reason.”<br/><br/>“I never beat you, though,” Sonia reminisces, carefully selecting her last Pokémon based on who she knows Leon will pick. “You were better than me from day one.”<br/><br/>“Charizard, go!”<br/><br/>“Alcremie, you’re up!”</p><p>Without a word, both trainers Dynamax their Pokémon. Leon’s Gigantamax Charizard is a force to be reckoned with, Sonia understands, and she doesn’t truly expect to beat him, but she’ll be damned if she doesn’t give it a good go. Her own Gigantamax Alcremie looms behind her, waiting patiently for her command. She’s quick to react, knowing that if she doesn’t, she has absolutely no chance of winning.</p><p>“G-Max Finale!”</p><p>“G-Max Wildfire!”</p><p>The two moves, each the most powerful in the two trainer’s arsenal, crash and collide in mid-air, filling the battlefield with a pink tinged smoke. When the smoke clears, it is Charizard that stands the victor, with Alcremie’s tiny form underneath. Sonia takes a deep breath, before returning Alcremie to her Pokéball. Leon follows suit, and walks to the middle of the battlefield to shake her hand.</p><p>“You did a good job,” he commends. “Nearly had me there.”</p><p>“I don’t know why I came here,” she admits with a laugh. “I just… I wanted to see you.”<br/><br/>“We can’t talk now,” Leon says. “I’m really sorry that you came all this way for me just to tell you that, but… I’m still at work. But I had fun! It was the best battle I’ve had in a while.” He leans down to close the few inches that separate them to plant a kiss on her forehead.</p><p>“It was stupid of me to come here. I’ll… I’ll see you later.”</p><p>She turns on her heel and all but sprints out, leaving Leon behind. She’s just in time for the next train, and messages Hop to check that he has indeed locked the lab. When he replies affirmative, she can relax- at least she could act normally around one of the two brothers. What’s gotten into her? First she tells him not to speak to her, then she travels to the other end of the country on a whim just so she can see his face. And worst of all, she leaves far too quickly, <em>and</em> her favourite boots are still in his apartment, along with some of her other belongings.</p><p>Arceus, she thinks, walking back through Wedgehurst towards home, she really is just as dumb as he is.<br/><br/></p><hr/><p>When Leon gets home, later than expected due to a number of challengers finishing their tiers today, his first and only thought is to throw himself onto the sofa. His head hurts from having to think all day, and his chest hurts for a reason he can’t quite put his fingers on, but he assumes is to do with Sonia. It’s his heart, he thinks, and he’s really not sure what to do.</p><p>Seeing Sonia today was totally unexpected, though not unwanted. After talking and seeing each other constantly for two weeks, this lack of contact is unusual. He misses her- seeing her gentle smile, hearing her laugh, listening to her saying she liked spending time together, because she said it a lot, and it made him truly feel appreciated. Some of her things are still here, he’s noticed- a bag of makeup, a hairbrush, her favourite hairclips, and the outfit she wore the day of the finals.</p><p>It’s a little weird, probably, but he throws her clothes into the washing machine, and watches for a few minutes as they spin around. He knows Sonia said not to call her, but there is so much on his mind, and he wants to talk to her, to clear the air, because she didn’t give him the time to tell her that he loves her too.</p><p>Instead, he sets his phone down, and sets about making dinner. He’s not a great cook, but can manage to whip up something mostly edible. As he’s plating up, his phone rings, and he almost drops the frying pan in his scramble to pick up the call.</p><p>“Hello?” He asks.</p><p>“Hey,” comes the familiar tone of Sonia from the other end. “Is this a good time?”<br/><br/>“Yes!” He answers, even though he’s starving, and would rather she just called back in ten minutes. But she remembers what he said the other week, about missing him when he was too busy doing other stuff, when he neglected their friendship seeking glory.</p><p>“Listen, I… I’ve done some stupid things recently. Yelling at you without actually listening to what you had to say, and travelling all the way up to Wyndon to see you while you were at work… it’s not a great look for me. So I’m phoning to say sorry. Sorry that I’ve been a terrible friend, and a terrible fake girlfriend.”<br/><br/>“Sonia… you’re definitely not a terrible friend. You’re my best friend, you always have been, and you always will be. Besides, I was a much worse fake boyfriend. I verged into fake husband, which was never on the cards.”<br/><br/>“Yeah, that was weird,” Sonia laughs, and Leon can relax- this is so much closer to the way things usually are between them. There’s a pause, which Leon uses as an opportunity to get a forkful of his dinner into his mouth. “Why did you say that?” He hears her ask, and he has to think about the answer.</p><p>“I mostly said it without thinking,” he answers honestly, “and it was really eating me up. Which is why I didn’t ask you out like I said I would. It was just such a stupid thing to say, and that’s coming from <em>me</em>, who seems to say stupid things all the time. But… really Sonia, I… I think I said it because I really am in love with you. And… that’s something that maybe I’d like, a little further down the line. If you’ll have me, that is.”</p><p>“Are you asking me to marry you, Dandelion?” Sonia says, and if Leon didn’t know better, he’d swear that she was crying.<br/><br/>“No! I meant, as in… if you’ll have me now. As… a boyfriend, or whatever.”<br/><br/>She hangs up at that, and for all of ten seconds, Leon’s heart drops to his stomach. But then the phone screen lights up again with a video call request, to which Leon is more than happy to accept.</p><p>“Sorry. I… needed to see you.” Her face looks oddly shiny, and Leon is convinced now that she <em>was</em> crying, and immediately feels terrible, because he knows Sonia prides herself on keeping her emotions in check at all times.</p><p>“Don’t cry,” he says softly. “I’m not worth crying over at all.”</p><p>“You <em>are</em>,” Sonia states. “And it wouldn’t be the first time I’ve cried for you. And it’s dumb and I hate it, but that’s the truth. But no more! I won’t cry over you ever again.”<br/><br/>“Can I see you tomorrow? Properly, I mean? I think I need more kissing lessons.”<br/><br/>“I’m happy to provide. Do you have time tomorrow?” It’s a practical concern more than anything- they’re currently living two hours away from each other, which isn’t much, but a lot more than the fifteen minutes they were used to as kids.</p><p>“I’ll make time,” he swears. “Work won’t be busy for me, considering how busy it was today, so I’ll probably be able to get the four o’clock train into Wedgehurst.”<br/><br/>“Come by the lab, then. I’ll be working late.” Sonia smiles, that radiant grin that makes his heart ache in the best of ways. “I can’t wait to see you again.”<br/><br/></p><hr/><p>True to his word, Leon leaves work at three thirty on the dot (and decides he <em>won’t</em> tell Sonia how early he had to go in for that to be okay). With an overnight bag so he can stay in Postwick, along with her backpack she left in his place, he boards the four o’clock train, and finds a quiet carriage to sleep in. He catches up on sleep for the best part of two hours, until Hop gets on at the Wild Area’s station, and excitedly wakes his brother up.</p><p>“Didn’t know you were coming home!” He says after shaking Leon awake.</p><p>“I’m going to see Sonia.”<br/><br/>“Ooh, do you need me to make myself scarce? Oh, I can’t though because I have to bring all this data in, and I’m not supposed to take it home.”<br/><br/>“It’s okay,” Leon laughs. “I need to get flowers anyway- I phoned ahead and asked the florist if they’d be okay waiting a few minutes to close.”<br/><br/>“Did you namedrop yourself? Wow, Leon that’s a new low.”</p><p>“It’s for a good cause! And I’ll tip well.”<br/><br/>“What, apology flowers?”</p><p>“Um… declaration of love flowers.”</p><p>“Have you two made up?” Hop asks excitedly, almost bouncing into Leon’s seat. “Sonia was so angry with you.”<br/><br/>“I know, and rightfully so. But we’re all good now. So I’m going to bring her flowers, and I’ve done the laundry that she left in my apartment, and… we’ll see were things go.”<br/><br/>“I better be your best man at the wedding,” Hop challenges, looking Leon in the eye, deadly serious.</p><p>“You’re getting a bit ahead of yourself,” Leon mumbles, averting his gaze for a moment before he remembers the conversation that he had with Sonia last night. “But I think you’ll have to fight Raihan for that position.”<br/><br/>Hop grins- that infectious grin that he knows Sonia’s commented on before- a family trait, she says. As the train pulls into Wedgehurst, Leon ruffles Hop’s hair, filled with confidence now that everything is going right with Sonia. Hop disappears in the direction of the lab, while Leon makes a last-minute dash to the florist. They don’t look that annoyed to see him after the shop would usually be shut- the bouquet he ordered is nearly the same size as his head, and he leaves a generous tip on the counter before making his way to the lab.</p><p>If he squints, Leon can just about see Hop leaving Wedgehurst, and he smiles to himself, knowing that he’ll be able to see Sonia without any interruptions. He knocks on the door to be polite, and lets himself in. Sonia sits at her desk, and when she looks up, Leon’s heart almost stops. She looks as radiant as ever- no different to how she looked last night, minus the tear tracks. But that doesn’t stop him from being ridiculously in love with her.</p><p>“I got you flowers,” Leon mumbles, passing the bouquet across to her. Her eyes light up at the bright colours- all oranges and yellows. Immediately, she sets about locating something to put them in- ever so practical.</p><p>“Thank you. They’re lovely!”<br/><br/>“And I brought back the stuff you left in my place. I washed it- I hope that’s okay with you.”</p><p>“Of course. Nothing embarrassing about my jeans and jumpers.”<br/><br/>“Did you have… any plans for this evening? I hadn’t really thought further than the flowers.”<br/><br/>“Well… Gran is in Circhester visiting some other family members, so… I have the house to myself. I got stuff to make curry!”<br/><br/>“It’s been so long since I’ve eaten your curry!” Leon cheers.</p><p>“Well, I’m even better than I was the last time, so you can rest assured your dinner will be excellent.”<br/><br/>“And what about those kissing lessons? Is there time to squeeze those in?” Leon asks, innocently batting his eyelashes at her. Sonia turns the computer off and lifts her bag, crossing the room to where he stands.<br/><br/>“I’m sure we can fit them in somewhere,” she promises, pressing one quick kiss to his lips. He dives forward as if to ask for more kisses, but she sidesteps with a laugh, taking his hand to drag him outside. While Sonia locks up, Leon drums his fingers against the back of her hand.</p><p>They talk quietly as they wander down Route 2, holding hands in a way that doesn’t feel awkward for the first time. Sonia giggles at his jokes from his day at work, and he tries his best to understand the research that she’s undertaking. It feels natural, just like an extension of their pre-existing relationship. Leon finally lets go of her hand at the front door, allowing her to get the key in. He takes his shoes off inside, as he’s used to, and follows Sonia through to the kitchen.</p><p>She pulls the ingredients out of the cupboards and the fridge, and the two fall into a comfortable silence as she sets about cooking. Once it’s bubbling gently, and the rice is boiling, she turns her attention to Leon. She does nothing but look at him, a tender expression that he’s not familiar with, but one he very much enjoys seeing.</p><p>“Is there something on my face?” He asks, a little embarrassed at how intently she’s staring at him.</p><p>“No. I’m just a little amazed that this face is mine to stare at now. Out of all the people in Galar, in the world, international celebrity Leon chose little old me.”<br/><br/>“This face couldn’t belong to anyone else. There’s no one in the entire world that I would even think about being with.”<br/><br/>“Okay, stop it, you’re going to make me blush.”<br/><br/>“You started it!” Leon counters, a grin reappearing on his face. “But I mean it.”</p><p>“We should eat dinner,” Sonia says, hurriedly turning away in her embarrassment. “I’m sure the curry is nearly done.”</p><p>She plates up, two hot portions of seasoned curry, as well as a glass of wine. It’s not often that either of them drink, but it’s a special occasion, and they may as well celebrate. They take their usual seats across from each other, and now it’s Leon’s turn to stare.</p><p>“This is better than my mum’s curry,” he declares, and Sonia can only gape at him wide-eyed.</p><p>“No way! Your mum’s curry is the best, and I got this recipe from her!”<br/><br/>“I know, but… don’t they say that you have to put your heart into curry? And that’s what makes it good?”</p><p>“Are you saying I love you more than your own mother?” Sonia laughs, raising an eyebrow.<br/><br/>“That’s not what I meant, I… well, my mum makes me curry all the time, so it’s not special. But this is special.”</p><p>“I’ll take the compliment. We should cook together sometime! If this is going to last, which… I hope it does, I’m not cooking for you every time.”</p><p>“I would love that,” Leon says honestly, because one of his most frequent thoughts about Sonia is the idea of them hovering over the stove in the kitchen of a house they share, cooking up some dinner for them and feeding the leftovers to Yamper and Charizard. But he shouldn’t say that, because he’s thinking too far ahead- he should be focussing on the here and now- Sonia’s curry, Sonia’s eyes, Sonia’s hands, Sonia’s hair…</p><p>Sonia finishing her dinner, Sonia taking his plate, Sonia washing the dishes, Sonia drying the dishes, Sonia offering him her hand, Sonia leading him upstairs, Sonia closing her bedroom door behind him, Sonia suddenly sitting on his lap, Sonia leaning down and whispering in his ear.</p><p>“Can I kiss you?” She murmurs, and he nods mutely in response.</p><p>She’s in control as she leans down to capture his lips. This time, Leon can respond in some way, holding her waist still with one arm and cupping her cheek with the other hand. Sonia’s hands are in his hair, her manicured nails gently scraping at his scalp, sending him into a semi-euphoric state. If making out with Sonia was always going to be like this, he’d be more than happy to stay here forever.</p><p>Her lips leave his momentarily, as she sits back to regard him, trying to figure out whether or not he’s enjoying himself. It is Leon that closes the gap once more, becoming braver with every kiss that they share. But it is Sonia that undoes him, grinding down ever so gently, causing him to pull away with a gasp.</p><p>“Too much?” She asks worriedly. “I didn’t mean to overstep.”<br/><br/>“It’s okay,” he answers, letting go of her as she moves to sit beside him instead. It’s only now that he realises they’re on her bed, and Sonia clearly had further plans for them, plans that changed from what she said a few days ago.</p><p>“I’m sorry. I’m getting ahead of myself. I’d rather take things at your pace, and if that means just making out… I’m more than okay with that.”<br/><br/>“I love you,” Leon says, and Sonia’s expression changes instantly. “And I’m glad that we’re talking like this. I think I need to master kissing before I can try my hand at anything else.”<br/><br/>“Too much teeth,” Sonia says. “And your nose always bumps into mine.”<br/><br/>“Noted,” Leon agrees, before leaning across to place another kiss on her lips. This one is slower, gentler, and Leon can feel Sonia sigh against his mouth as she rests her hands on his chest. It is her that pulls away, regarding him with wide eyes.</p><p>“I love you too,” she says.<br/><br/>“I know,” he jokes. “You told me on Sunday.”<br/><br/>“I’ll not tell you again if you’re going to act like that,” she pouts, but Leon only laughs, wrapping his arms around her and falling back onto the bed. She’s effectively on top of him, and he understands how compromising their position may look, but it’s just them, and this way, he can both hold Sonia and get to see her face.</p><p>“Not to kill the mood, but there’s some other things we need to talk about.”<br/><br/>“Alright, let’s work this stuff out, then,” Leon nods, not letting Sonia go, even though there definitely would be a more comfortable position to talk in than this.</p><p>“We… we live too far away from each other to see each other all the time. I know that two hours isn’t that bad, but… we’re used to being closer, to having that fifteen-minute walk to each other’s front doors,” Sonia explains.</p><p>“I get it. I’ll move home!”<br/><br/>“That is <em>not</em> the solution I was going for. Then you’re two hours away from work!”<br/><br/>“I was actually discussing this not too long ago in a meeting… I’m going to change how the Battle Tower works on a practical level, so I can work more on trying to get a footing in the league world again. There’s been… whisperings of me becoming the chairman, if I want to.”<br/><br/>“And do you want to?” Sonia asks. Leon pauses, pondering what exactly to say to her.</p><p>“I’m not sure. Part of me doesn’t want to, because it would bring up so many bad memories from before, and another part of me would love to, because I love the league, and I would love to prevent more kids from having to go through what I had to. Either way, I wouldn’t be joining for this year’s upcoming Gym Challenge.”<br/><br/>“I think you’d be great at it. And any problems, any worries… I’m always here for you. Any time of the day or night.”</p><p>“You are literally the best, Sonia. And I will move back home, even for a few months- I’ve been thinking about getting rid of that apartment for ages. It’s just another reminder of Rose.”<br/><br/>“If you’re sure. Maybe… maybe somewhere down the line, we could look for somewhere together?” She avoids looking directly at him, instead playing with a length of his hair. “I can’t live with Gran forever, and you don’t want to put your parents out for too long, and we could go somewhere in between both of our jobs…”<br/><br/>“Motostoke, you mean.”<br/><br/>“Hey, I’d be okay with Turffield too.”</p><p>“I can’t believe you’re asking me to move in with you and we’ve barely been dating for twenty four hours.”<br/><br/>“It was a hypothetical, Leon.”<br/><br/>“You’re something special, Sonia Magnolia,” he says, all the softness in his voice as that day outside, sitting on the old fence. She leans down to kiss the tip of his nose, relishing in the way it wrinkles with Leon’s surprise.</p><p>“How did it take us this long to get this far?” She asks quietly.</p><p>“I think we’re both as dumb as each other,” Leon answers truthfully.</p><p>They collapse in a fit of giggles, Sonia rolling off his stomach to lie beside him, wiping at tears with one hand and holding tight onto him with the other. Lying like this, staring up at the ceiling of her childhood bedroom, it’s easy to see why they’re together now. It was only a matter of time- from two teenagers dancing around awkward crushes and crumbling friendships, two young adults that are still trying to find their way in the world. They were always meant to be- and any mistakes before now? Well, they were just practicing for this.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>and that's that! Thanks for reading :)</p>
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